Masterminds

Score:  *** out of ***** (B-)

Directed by Jared Hess
Starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, et. al.
Running time: 94 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Masterminds, based on a true story, features a cast of heavy-hitter comedians but doesn't follow through on the potential.  Galifianakis is rock-solid and funny, but the film can't decide on a tone and so the whole is less than the sum of its parts.  Don't rush out to see it in the theater, but it should make for a fine on-demand/Netflix choice on some frigid winter evening.


Armored truck driver David Ghantt (Galifianakis) is a simple, gentle yet restless soul, engaged to a desperate woman, Jandice (McKinnon) yet pining for a co-worker, Kelly (Wiig).  When Kelly is fired from the company, however, she joins up with Steve Chambers (Wilson) who leads a group of petty criminals.  Hoping to become a legend - and filthy rich - Steve sees an opportunity in Kelly's previous employment and gets her to draw David into the plot.  Despite a rather clumsy effort, David succeeds in robbing his employer and then takes flight to Mexico where he awaits Kelly.  Steve and his gang cut him off, however, and David soon finds himself hunted by the authorities as he was caught in the act on camera.  As David flees, Kelly finds herself conflicted between the comforts of a new life of luxury and her guilty feelings.

Masterminds features an impressive comedic cast which mostly hits its marks.  Zach Galifianakis, one of my favorite contemporary comics, is the lead.  Featuring a great country accent and style of speech that reflect his naivete, Galifianakis' David is a sympathetic main character who sets up easily for a variety of humor.  He does a solid job, stays true to the character and offers up plenty of primarily slapstick laughs.  Kristen Wiig, playing David's love interest, is another top comedian, but unfortunately she basically plays a normal, plot-device-based character here.  She's an underrated actress and still gets some laughs, but she's underutilized.  Owen Wilson, whom I find just OK, lives up (down?) to those middling expectations; not hilarious, but at least suits his role as the lead villain well enough.  And Jason Sudeikis clearly has a blast as a disturbed/disturbing assassin, earning some of the film's bigger laughs.  Current SNL cast members Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones also have small roles and they employ their vastly different styles to give the film a boost.

Masterminds is a solid comedy, though also a bit disappointing given the impressive acting talent involved.  The primary problem with the film is its indecision about what kind of comedy it wants to be.  Being based on true events admittedly makes this harder than usual, but it shifts between a fairly light-hearted silly slapstick adventure (more of this) and a more subtle, darker humor (less of this).  Given this inconsistency, it's all the more impressive that Galifianakis maintains a steady lock on his character.  But then you have the contrasting styles and tones of Wilson (slapstick) and McKinnon (weird); and with Sudeikis you get both styles.  Taken as individual scenes, both styles work, but it makes for kind of a messy body of work.  Partly this may have resulted from production troubles, as the film was originally to be released in August 2015.  The writing and script is at least solid with a few big laughs, and a lot of good chuckles to be had throughout.  Rated PG-13, there's nothing too raunchy (perhaps I've just been numbed).

***

Masterminds continues 2016's trend of decent but unspectacular comedies.  In fact, the best films that feature humor have been animated films, for which 2016 has been a great year.  There's a lot of great comedic acting talent out there, but I have significant doubts about the comedic writers (at least the ones that are in charge at the moment).  Your Galifianakis, Ferrell, McCarthy, and others do great work and tend to elevate otherwise mediocre if not poor material.  Most egregiously untapped by far is Kristen Wiig, perhaps the most talented actor/comedian active today.  She demonstrated her range on SNL, and in Welcome to Me which unfortunately only saw limited release (get it on Netflix!).  She should either be given complex, lead roles in well-written films, or something off-the-wall in bizarre roles in a new kind(s) of comedies.  Her roles in Ghostbusters and Masterminds are like having Michael Jordan in his prime play in the D-League.  You can do better than this, producers and writers.  All that said, Masterminds makes for a fine Netflix choice if you're in the mood for a goofy comedy, particularly for fans of Zach Galifianakis.



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