Poor Frank Bartlett (Charlie Hunnam) has been tormented all
his life by his older brother Bruce (Chris O'Dowd), who sees himself as a
director on the rise. The straw that broke the camel's back took place during
Frank's marriage in which his fiancée admitted to being unfaithful and Frank
responded by vomiting on her. As if that wasn't humiliating enough, Bruce
videotaped the whole affair and uploaded it to YouTube turning Frank into a
viral sensation.
Now, Frank lives alone in Death Valley, but gets drawn back
when his mom (Nora Dunn) guilt trips him into returning when Bruce successfully
finishes rehab. Almost immediately, Frank literally bumps into Lassie (Lizzy
Caplan), who has tied one on after catching her boyfriend in flagrante delicto
with their pool boy. Their night together gets off to a rocky start when Frank
has problems getting it up. Of course, Bruce is there to record the whole thing
and marketing it as his latest cinematic masterpiece. Frank is livid and the
situation worsens when the brothers learn Lassie is the daughter of Bruce's
rehab buddy, Jack (Chris Noth), a washed-up actor known for his violent temper.
Frank and Bruce bounce around Los Angeles in their bumbling attempts to destroy
the footage.
Frankie Go Boom
portrays the exasperating life of a sane man in an insane world populated by
completely unsympathetic characters. Yet, Frank is such a pushover that it's
hard to root for him. Nearly everyone around him deserves a punch in the face
from his irritating brother to his obnoxious mother, both of whom share a
creepy and borderline incestuous relationship. Also, the film never explains
why Frank still brings his cell phone to the desert if he wants to isolate
himself from his poisonous family.
If there is any heart to be found in the movie, it is from
the blossoming romance between Frank and Lassie. Their relationship begins with
a twist on the meet cute when a drunken Lassie crashes into Frank while wearing
a coat over her edible lingerie. But, their love story is sidelined by
writer/director Jordan Roberts' preoccupation with crafting outrageous
situations. Chris Noth runs on his treadmill in a thong and asks the Bartlett
boys to smack his ass and Frank gives CPR to a pig after it's launched into a
grimy swimming pool. The results of this shock and awe approach to comedy leads
to a series of tortuously strained gags and a collection of supporting
characters that are nothing more than caricatures. The only interesting one of
the bunch is Ron Perlman as a transsexual ex-con now known as Phyllis. That is
more due to Perlman's performance than anything written on the page.
Just like Perlman, Lizzy Caplan and Chris O'Dowd are
talented performers that are simply wasted in their one-note roles. Meanwhile,
Charlie Hunnam doesn't make much of an impression in the lead. Perhaps, comedy
isn't his strong suit.
Frankie Go Boom is
a terribly unfunny farce. At best, it's a mild curiosity for Sons of Anarchy fans hoping to see
Hunnam and Perlman in wildly different roles.
Rating: * (*****)
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