This film might be the most mundane, formulaic independent comedy I've seen in a long time. It is filled with incredibly banal cliches and has such an obvious narrative that it is totally boring and frustrating to watch.
Steve Zahn is a shy loser who lives in his parents' motel in suburban Arizona where he is the night manager. One day, hottie Jennifer Aniston arrives and checks in for a few nights while she does her job, selling hotel/motel artwork lithographs in the area. (You see, the fourth rule of independent films is that you have to have at least one character with a weird job you've never heard of - the weirder the better.) Apparently Zahn has never seen a woman as beautiful as Aniston (really?!) so he loses his mind and begins to solicit her in creepy, inappropriate ways. He asks her if he can touch her butt, and she lets him - though it's unclear why. At some point the two have a quickie in the laundry room before she hits the road again. Zahn, having lost his shit already, follows her around the country for awhile awkwardly stalking her, hoping he can wear down her resolve not to date him.
Zahn is actually one of the best things in the movie. He does well with the terrible material he's given (the script of this is pretty bad) and moves from shy and pitiful to quirky and weird very well. It's hard to be too upset with him because he's very sweet, and it's clear that he painfully has no game, and doesn't at all have a mean agenda with regard to Aniston. Still, the movie moves in bizarre directions for reasons that could only come from an indie screenwriter.
Aniston is as terrible and lifeless as she ever is. I absolutely cannot understand what her appeal is or why people would think of her as a good actor or a above-average beauty. She's totally monotone, bitter and mean and aside from her very common girl-next-door looks, it is unclear why Zahn's character would pursue her. Somehow in the third act, Woody Harrelson is Aniston's ex-boyfriend/future husband, but that whole part made no sense to me.
The only other nice thing to say about the film is that there are a handful of songs from the indie collective band the New Pornographers in the soundtrack. These are nice to have, as they give a few moments of relief from the otherwise unfunny story - but they are extra frustrating that something as good as the Pornographers music would be tied to such a sinking ship as this movie.
This is not a movie worthy of scorn. It is teeny-tiny and would never have been made without the star power behind it (that is Aniston and Harrelson - though I guess Zahn has some indie cache). It is just so awfully trite that it does not deserve any love.
Stars: 1 of 4
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