Phoenix, Oregon: Likeable Dramedy about Midlife Rebirth Comforting if Conventional
By Liam Lacey
Rating: B-
A good-natured and well-acted small-town drama about midlife renewal, Gary Lundgren’s Phoenix, Oregon is the opposite of topical or urgent. That’s why it can be recommended as a distraction and a slice of comfort food.
Certainly, it’s familiar. The film has echoes of several canonical indies (Sideways, Big Night, American Splendor), and features a flavourful turn from veteran character actor James Le Gros, best known for his TV work (Justified, Hunters). Le Gros’ flat, impassive face brings to mind a well-broken-in catcher’s mitt, and he has the stare of a man all too acquainted with the fact that failure is always an option.
Le Gros plays Bobby, a middle-aged bartender in a third-rate Italian restaurant, for the petty despot of an owner, Kyle (Diedrich Bader). Alone at home in the trailer that his mother left him, under the gaping stare of his pet fish, Bobby obsessively relives the past through a graphic novel, involving aliens and the two most important women in his life: his late mother and the wife who left him.
One day, Bobby’s friend and the restaurant’s under-valued, highly principled chef Carlos (Jesse Borrego) approaches him with an offer that will require a leap of faith and all of Bobby’s inheritance. They’ll tell their boss to take a hike and go into business together. Their idea is to restore an old bowling alley — Bobby was an ace bowler in high school — and sell Carlos’ ultra-gourmet pizza on the side.
Tanya (Lisa Edelstein), a restaurant wine supplier and Bobby’s secret crush, wants to help out. She brings in the financial assistance of her sort-of boyfriend, peppy little bantam cock of a venture capitalist Mario (Reynaldo Gallegos), whose resume has been mostly in pot sales. Bobby and Carlos are too excited to pay attention to red flags.
Meanwhile, the plot shifts attention to Bobby’s problems with the egomaniacal repair man Al (Kevin Corrigan), who has been hired to fix up the bowling alley. As well as a price gouger, Al is determined to challenge Bobby to a bowling match once the business is operational.
Phoenix, Oregon is a bit of everything-on-it-pizza of a movie. The plot toggles back and forth, between the bowling alley restoration, Carlos’ artisanal pizza perfectionism in the kitchen, Bobby’s graphic novel, and his blossoming relationship with the flirty but elusive Tanya.
Fewer ingredients would definitely improve its consistency. The graphic novel segments, while offering some visual texture, tend to feel precious and slow. The bowling match between Bobby and Al is clumsily edited, reminding us there have been much funnier comedies set in the world of the pins and balls (The Big Lebowski, Kingpin).
While characters like grumpy, locked-down Bobby, the principled artiste Carlos, and the emotionally complicated Tanya are a trio worth knowing, the sidekick actors seem to be auditioning for their own sitcom.
Phoenix, Oregon. Written and directed by Gary Lundgren. Starring James Le Gros, Jesse Borrego, Lisa Edelstein, Diedrich Bader and Kevin Corrigan. Available June 1 on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play and other on-demand services.