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Cobie Smulders and Guy Pearce in Results.
Bujalski bulks up with a starrier cast in Results
by Jake Coyle
(AP) In Andrew Bujalskis directorial
debut Funny Ha Ha—the film often cited as
the first “mumblecore” movie—its aimless
protagonist Marnie, recently graduated from
college, writes a to-do list charming in its
modest ambition: “Make friends with Jackie.”
“Learn to play chess?” “Fitness initiative!”
Bujalskis last film crossed one of those
off the list (the ‘80s-set black-and-white
mockumentary “Computer Chess”), and now
he has taken his characters to the gym. The
fitness world, where Bujalskis latest, Results,
is set, might seem like the most unlikely
place for the Austin-based indie director
to turn; his scruffy, nerdy characters would
probably only blink stoically if presented with
a treadmill. But, as with Mamies list, Bujalski
has always been both stirred and amused by
the impulse for personal growth.
Results, itself, is a bulking up for Bujalski.
Though still a low budget independent film, it
cost more than his other four films combined
and stars big name actors, including Guy
Pearce and Colbie Smulders.
This is a radical shift for Bujalski, who’s
synonymous with Cassevetes-like lo-fi
productions made with non-professional
actors. The (seeming) lack of polish in
his films isn’t merely a stylistic preference
but an aesthetic principle: He favors
natural, awkward behavior—familiar and
mundane—over more mannered, movie-like
performance.
Results embodies both approaches in two
totally opposite characters. Pearce is Trevor,
the fit, uber-positive owner of the Power 4
Life gym, where in stumbles Danny (Kevin
Corrigan), a slovenly, divorced New Yorker
who has inherited a huge sum of money and
is now lazily living in an unfurnished Texas
McMansion. “I want to be able to take a
punch,” he mumbles to Trevor.
Trevor assigns him his top trainer,
Kat (Smulders), an obsessive believer in
fitness who shames anyone who drops out
of a routine and (literally) chases down a
suburban mom behind on her payments,
cursing her as a “deadbeat.” Despite their
differences, she and Danny hit it off, and a
kind of romantic triangle develops, along
with Trevor, who has a vague history with
Kat.
It’s a rom-com setup but one that
disintegrates. The movie, which Bujalksi also
wrote, instead follows more unpredictable
story lines as Trevor, Danny and Kat each
struggle in their own way to find fulfillment.
Danny, unkempt and slovenly but honest and
easygoing, upends the prescribed wellness
programs of Power 4 Life. “We may disagree
on the definition of health,” he tells Kat,
lighting a joint.
They make an appealing triad. When
younger, Pearce was a bodybuilder in
his native Australia, and the character-
composed, genial—suits him. Corrigan
has long been one of the best character
actors around: a laconic, deadpan presence
who brings a sweet melancholy to even the
smallest of parts. Nothing proves Bujalskis
smarts as much as casting him in a leading
role.
But it’s Smulders who takes hold of the
film. Her angry intensity animates the story,
prodding it along. Smulders has excelled as
a member of ensembles (How I Met Your
Mother, The Avengers), but Results suggests
she can lead, too.
Bujalski balances each character, shifting
between perspectives in a way that doesn’t
always feel natural (some background is
revealed artificially late in the movie). But the
pleasure of Results is that it does something
few movies do by sensitively burrowing
into the foolhardy but admirable hopes
and aspirations of regular people trying to
improve themselves, whether it means a
“fitness initiative” or something else. Change
may be impossible, but progress isn’t.
Results, a Magnolia Pictures release, is
rated R by the Motion Picture Association
of America for “for language, some sexual
content and drug use.” Running time: 105
minutes. Three stars out of four.