The new ensemble comedy "Mumford" is one possible answer to an age-old dilemma for Hollywood filmmakers: how to make the same tried (or tired) and true plotline seem fresh to the average moviegoer. The solution that writer/director Lawrence Kasdan seems to have come up with is: Add some bizarre and completely unexpected (not to mention unrelated) plot twists, and voila, a hit romantic comedy.
Well, maybe. "Mumford" certainly seems to be a highly unorthodox movie at first glance. The main character, Mumford (Loren Dean), is a successful psychologist in a small town called Mumford. This curiosity is noted only briefly in the first part of the movie, and is played off by the characters as merely coincidence.
His patients include a divorced pharmacist with a passion for sex fantasies (Pruitt Taylor Vince); a housewife (Mary McDonnell) addicted to catalog shopping and married to a rich investment banker (Ted Danson) who fuels her habit; a lonely billionaire computer whiz (Jason Lee) with a passion for skateboarding and building animatronic women in his basement; and Sofie Crisp (Hope Davis), a divorced woman who quits her job and moves back home because she has severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Sofie's ailment is perhaps the best example of what plagues every aspect of this movie: convenience. Sure, her character looks sickly, but the audience knows she won't die from being tired all the time, and that she'll probably get better and fall in love with her therapist, a certain Dr. Mumford. In fact, no character's problems seem beyond the magic of this doctor; no one is in danger of not living happily ever after. Despite the movie's oddball veneer, it is quite mundane.
In truth, "Mumford" follows a basic formula: Outsider comes to small town, gains respect of townspeople, and woos prickly and seemingly inaccessible town beauty. But while other movies of this type try to emphasize the dramatic elements of the story - such as the outsider's difficult assimilation into town life or his obstacles in romancing the town belle - "Mumford" downplays these ideas severely. In fact, the beginning of the film finds Mumford already established as the town's most popular shrink.
Most of the conflict comes from an aspect of Mumford's character that remains hidden until questions arise about his past. Mumford reveals that he's not really a psychologist. The movie then drops completely out of character as Mumford flashes back to his life as a drug-addled, sex-crazed IRS investigator and later to the time he spends at a rehab center in the desert, where he decides to start a new life as a therapist. (People had always told him he was a good listener.)
He proceeds to use his IRS knowledge to hack his way to a new life as Mumford. Shot in grainy, home movie-style 16mm film, this sequence is one of the most interesting and unexpected aspects of the movie.
Another pleasant surprise is the performance from Lee as Skip Skipperton, the likable but lonely computer mogul. Lee manages to conquer the formidable obstacle of poorly written dialogue to deliver a tiny bit of the humor that distinguished his performances in "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy." He even gets a chance to show off the skateboarding skills that made him a professional for Stereo Skateboards in the early '90s.
But the story never distinguishes itself, and "Mumford" remains at best an average romantic comedy. The body of the movie trudges slowly through moments of heartfelt revelations and self-discovery from every character; this is unavoidable in a feel-good movie about therapy. The final scene finds all of Mumford's clients together with their newfound loves, an ending you can see coming a light-year away.
Despite a few interesting plot twists, "Mumford" is a formulaic comedy that leaves little to the imagination and much to be desired.
Grade: C+
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
