Vengeance: B.J. Novak Seeks America in this Red State, Blue State, Fourth Estate Satire
By Jim Slotek
Rating: B
Vengeance – the satirical debut feature written, directed by and starring The Office’s B.J. Novak – seems a direct spoof of the New York Times and other major media’s often patronizing coverage of the Two Americas.
The drill: Send a reporter to a Red State to find out what “those people” are really like, and what motivates them to do the things they do, say the things they say, and most importantly, vote the way they vote.
The set-up in Vengeance is almost by the book, with one exception. When New York journalist Ben (Novak) sees his opportunity to shine a light on the heart of America, his intended media “score” is not in print, but in an investigative podcast. It is 2022 after all.
Ben (B.J. Novak) studies the death site of Abilene. Her brother (Boyd Holbrook) thinks it’s murder.
As Vengeance opens, Ben is seen living up to the East Coast elite “bro” lifestyle, hanging out at bars and parties, hooking up and assessing his next opportunistic move up the media ladder. But a phone call informs him that Abilene (Lio Tipton), a former hook-up who’d moved back to Nowhere, Texas (somewhere apparently near Marfa, of UFO lights fame) was found dead, presumably of an overdose.
Why the call? Seems her family is under the assumption that Ben was her boyfriend rather than a one-night stand, and her brother Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook) has used her phone to deliver the bad news. Against his better judgment, Ben is Texas bound to deliver a eulogy for a woman about whom he knows almost nothing (a very funny scene).
His duty done, Ben is prepared to go home when Ty comes clean about his ulterior motive of getting Ben to investigate Abilene’s murder. Yes, murder.
Ben’s not buying the murder part, but he sees an overarching theme that he could sell, about an America that has given up on facts, institutions and governance to the extent that, in the face of the mundane, they automatically turn to conspiracies and myth-making.
So, it is that he moves in with the Shaws and wires himself up digitally to the ears of his podcast producer Eloise (Issa Rae) back in New York.
There are “yokel” jokes, to be sure. Ty only ever refers to his young brother (Eli Bickel) as “El Stupido,” which Ben suggests is not very nice. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t speak Spanish,” Ty says. And Ben “goes native,” acquiring a taste for things like “Frito pie” (chili poured into a bag of Fritos).
And, despite the obviousness of his patronization, he develops an affection for the Shaw family, particularly the no-nonsense mom (J. Smith-Cameron), who teaches him the passive-aggressive use of the term, “Bless your heart!” The term is later used often as their relationship becomes strained.
There is a meandering pace to Ben’s investigation, the better to time out his realization that “these people” are people. He encounters law enforcement officers at different levels that all pass the buck, however friendlily. He meets a philosophic, moustachioed record producer (Ashton Kutcher) who’d recorded Abilene’s demo and who, initially at least, takes Ben under his wing as a friend and guide.
Ben’s transformation is slow and believable. Vengeance is a movie whose dry humour carries its message well and even has its sweet moments. The desolate desert location hangs over everything, sometimes suggesting another planet peopled by humans. But given the movie’s suggestion of the emptiness of city life, it may also suggest just another kind of desert.
However, the last act goes outside the lines, becoming frantic, rushed and unlikely. It’s the kind of ending that suggests the budget was running out. Still, Novak pulls off a lot, theme-wise, in his exploration of the American divide.
Vengeance. Written and directed by B.J. Novak. Starring B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook and Ashton Kutcher. Opens in theatres, Friday, July 29.