The Baxter

I genuinely enjoyed this film. Even more after multiple viewings. You must take it for what it is (which is a light hearted romantic comedy) yet its humor is not of the typical Hollywood romantic comedy. The boys of stella give it some edge while managing to maintain a seamless blend with the romantic aspects of the movie. Its not a "mean" edge, or a "hip" edge or a "dirty" edge that the humor has, its more of an absurdist edge that the Stella troupe is known for. However, where Stella can often fail (and succeed for that matter) is when they go too far, and the entire storyline and every moment becomes absurd, and things risk getting to a point where they are no longer funny. I think the boys have found the perfect showcase of their brand of humor in this film because the absurdist aspects are thoughtfully sprinkled on top of a solid foundation of a cookie cutter romantic comedy story. Much of the film is smile and giggle funny, with a few moments of absolute humour nukes. Most importantly, you grow to genuinely like and care about the characters in the film. Justin Theroux is genius as Bradley.

Is it just me, or was this an homage to The Apartment (Best Picture – 1960)? Baxter, was played by Jack Lemon in the Billy Wilder classic. I got a feel for it here, but it was a tad shy of a full load for my tastes, but the subtly in places and the "everyone is a Baxter" message were warm and sincere.

Recently I have been spoiled by faster and smother paced silly, love stories by the likes of the Friends' cast, Sandler, and Stiller. Even the classics from the 50's through the 70's often found a more stable pace to encourage us to follow along.

The glacially slow development of the main characters' true desires takes something away from this movie for me. But perhaps that was just the point. Sometimes it takes us to be pushed to the edge to face what we want to do with our love. A little better pacing, a better mixing of the silly and the subtle would have made this an exceptional movie. I will wait hopefully for Michael Showalter's (director/writer ) next effort.

The Baxter This is probably one of the most underrated films I've seen yet, considering that it's style is basically generic romantic comedy (meaning the makers underrated it themselves), it's gotten little to no viewership... I never even heard of it before I picked it up off the wall (it was next in line).

Anyway, you know all those movies about how the man and the woman love each other but can't figure it out, so the woman almost marries the wrong person before the man crashes the wedding and sweeps her away? Well this is the story of the guy left at the altar, and his search for the "right woman" as well when his character is defined as the safe, content "nice guy" that women are supposed to erroneously try to marry when their lively romantic relationships go awry. Basically that's the long way of saying that this guy is an accountant who spends his time reading the dictionary as a private pleasure, and now he realizes that he'd like to actually get the girl too.

What's absolutely wonderful about this film is that Elliot knows that his problem is that he's such a harmless nice guy, but he knows that being a harmless nice guy is a really great thing to be if you don't take into account that that means losing a lot of relationships because women are more interested in romance risk-takers. So he has to battle his own personality with his own personality while his friends give him TERRIBLE advice that sounds good (we've been there, now haven't we?), he surrounds himself with completely superficial people because superficiality is the only way he knows to fit in, and he totally doesn't notice the direct and not-so-subtle advances from the "right girl" who is, also, way too nice to take risks as well.

In short, it's an absolutely delightful sort of aside in the whole romantic comedy industry, but still uses a lot of the tropes and techniques usual to the form to keep it simple and enjoyable for everyone.

--PolarisDiB

I saw this movie during the "Free Drive-In Movies at Rockefeller Center" series in New York City, on 15 June 2005. It doesn't get a wider release until later this summer, but when it does, I would see this movie with my grandparents. Heck, I could see this movie with my great- grandparents. I could go see this with my snobby friends, and my culturally clueless friends, and I think they all would like it. I'm actually looking forward to bringing my parents to see it, because not only do I think they'll really enjoy it, but I feel like it's finally one of those "movies their weird artsy daughter likes" that I can show them and know that they won't be either appalled over or baffled by.

This is in NO way intended to imply that The Baxter is boring or sappy or in any way oversimplified – completely the opposite. The film and the characters are complex, even though they are intentionally written as types. Despite being told through a series of flashbacks, there is no plot that can be ruined by showing the ending at the beginning – the whole point of the story is that you already know how these things always end, and the story is in how the characters get there. Like any good character study, the film makes the most of its preordained plot by reaching those ends through uniquely-developed means.

One of the reasons that so many movies that could be labeled "family appropriate" are so bad is because the fact that they're so decent feels so contrived – like the raunchy and disturbing parts of life are taken out, and what's left becomes the plot of a PG movie. What makes The Baxter different in its broad appeal is not that it aims low, but that it lifts the audience up to its level. It encourages the viewer to explore other facets of the romantic comedy standard without ever leading them into territory so foreign or artificial that they are unable to relate to the characters or the circumstances. Quite simply, this is a decent and proper and earnest movie because it's told from the point of view of decent and proper and earnest people. It's good, and it's damn good, because, among other things, like excellent costume and set designs, great characters, ridiculous attention to detail, and beautiful directorial choices, it doesn't cater or pander to any one sort of person or audience – it's a clever take on a timeless theme, and it's executed in a way that that just about anyone can appreciate. It's sincere, it's honest, it's believable, it's incredibly moving, and it's memorably unique – it also just so happens to be extremely polite, because some movies, like some people, are just polite by nature, and that's what makes them who they are. Highly recommended.

A quirky premise and some delightful performances made this film refreshingly true to its stated goal. Showalter is charmingly awkward and perplexed throughout, as a "baxter," one of the guys who are always left alone at the altar when their brides' true loves return to abduct them. Michelle Williams is exceptional in her role, and Jon DeVries and Peter Dinklage both contribute some great comedic moments.

A few sour notes rang out, including Elizabeth Banks' performance as Caroline Swann, which seemed confused and inconsistent. But The Baxter's power is in its non-standard take on old romance stereotypes. The impassioned speeches of each reformed lover to his girl are wonderfully recast from the perspective of the safe, nice guy who is our protagonist here. True love for him is not in being a daredevil or a risk-taker, but simply being himself and taking the opportunity that presents itself. As a new kind of romantic comedy that doesn't necessarily play by the rules, The Baxter succeeds in many ways.