A journalist and podcaster travels from New York City to Texas to investigate the death of a woman whom he hooked up with.
Director: B. J. Novak
Cast: B. J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, J. Smith-Cameron
Release Date: July 29, 2022
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
Rated R for language and brief violence
Runtime: 1h 47m
Review:
B. J. Novak's Vengeance is a dramady that's disarmingly funny even though its dissecting some heady and timely themes. Novak wrote and directs the film and you get the distinct feeling that the story and idea are something very personal to him. The script has an easy flow to it as you meet the assorted cast of characters who start off as clichés before being revealed as three dimensional people. Novak's main character plays as a your standard narcissistic coastal elite who's clearly outside of his bubble. The comedy that comes from the fish out of water situation is solid and delivers some solid laughs. Boyd Holbrook and Novak have some solid chemistry together and deliver some of the film's funnier moments. J. Smith-Cameron provides a strong maternal performance that's more subtle than a lot of the other characters but packs a punch by the end of the film. Ashton Kutcher also delivers a surprisingly subdued but incredibly effective supporting turn as a small town record producer who like most people in the film have much more to them than meets the eye. Vengeance has a slightly choppy tonal feel that makes it uneven in parts but ultimately it does a solid job of capturing the current state of our divided country.
B+
