Jonathan Groff stars in this independent film "C.O.G." which is the same title as the short story by humourist David Sedaris this film is based on. Groff assumes the role as David, an educated Yale graduate who escapes the richness of the New York nightlife and settles in the more roughshod blue-collar factory in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Once he arrives in Oregon, David takes on a series of blue-collar jobs and starts to get a better grip of what it's like to be an outcast in a world that's alien to him. The community live, breathe and eat their jobs like there's nothing else in the world that matters to them a big contrast to the posh lifestyle that David is adjusted to. And though he has his life with many open doors of opportunity, he still wants to find ways to connect to these simpler folk and feels they demand to respect him because he made the effort to educate himself to get ahead.
The film seems to deem through three stages of subplots but it's high questionable if they are or not congruent with the exception of David being the focal character. Corey Stoll plays forklift operator Curly who works at the apple factory with David who feels that he can reveal his true feelings towards David which progressively goes down a darker path. And then there's a subplot involving Jon (Denis O'Hare), a former alcoholic, born-again Christian who takes David as his apprentice and teaches him to sculpt Oregon-shaped clocks.
There's other themes that follow through "C.O.G" like fitting in the job force which David finds very difficult, sexual references which is often seen when David is interacting with Curly, and religion through his interaction with Jon. Though this all sums up to the film as part of the quest for self-discovery for David, the three subplots are handled very fundamentally and never unites with each other in the end.
The movie itself has no polished conclusion which may break from cliche, and leaves us in a cloud of uncertainty. Once Jon discovers David's true intention, he pulls David to the outskirts of town, lets him out of his truck and drives off leaving David off to search for his own endeavours.
So were led to believe that David never did fit into the life that was in this Oregon town, we are left wondering what it was that David discovered during his prolonged stay, if he got anything out of it. The audience gets a bit perplexed as though they missed something along the way, like what did David get out of his journey and where does he go from here?
In an eerie twist of irony, Groff plays a very similar character like does on the series "Looking", with identical vulnerability, narrow-headed arrogant traits. Though it's questionable if Groff's like that in real life, he seems comfortable in playing those roles. Though he can be a condescending jerk at times, you still can find some likable idiosyncrasies in his persona. In the end you do hope all goes well for him and even though life in Oregon didn't do him well, he still has resources that could open doors for him. Though privilege seems to play a theme here, the dimensions are interesting, though not congruent.
Once he arrives in Oregon, David takes on a series of blue-collar jobs and starts to get a better grip of what it's like to be an outcast in a world that's alien to him. The community live, breathe and eat their jobs like there's nothing else in the world that matters to them a big contrast to the posh lifestyle that David is adjusted to. And though he has his life with many open doors of opportunity, he still wants to find ways to connect to these simpler folk and feels they demand to respect him because he made the effort to educate himself to get ahead.
The film seems to deem through three stages of subplots but it's high questionable if they are or not congruent with the exception of David being the focal character. Corey Stoll plays forklift operator Curly who works at the apple factory with David who feels that he can reveal his true feelings towards David which progressively goes down a darker path. And then there's a subplot involving Jon (Denis O'Hare), a former alcoholic, born-again Christian who takes David as his apprentice and teaches him to sculpt Oregon-shaped clocks.
There's other themes that follow through "C.O.G" like fitting in the job force which David finds very difficult, sexual references which is often seen when David is interacting with Curly, and religion through his interaction with Jon. Though this all sums up to the film as part of the quest for self-discovery for David, the three subplots are handled very fundamentally and never unites with each other in the end.
The movie itself has no polished conclusion which may break from cliche, and leaves us in a cloud of uncertainty. Once Jon discovers David's true intention, he pulls David to the outskirts of town, lets him out of his truck and drives off leaving David off to search for his own endeavours.
So were led to believe that David never did fit into the life that was in this Oregon town, we are left wondering what it was that David discovered during his prolonged stay, if he got anything out of it. The audience gets a bit perplexed as though they missed something along the way, like what did David get out of his journey and where does he go from here?
In an eerie twist of irony, Groff plays a very similar character like does on the series "Looking", with identical vulnerability, narrow-headed arrogant traits. Though it's questionable if Groff's like that in real life, he seems comfortable in playing those roles. Though he can be a condescending jerk at times, you still can find some likable idiosyncrasies in his persona. In the end you do hope all goes well for him and even though life in Oregon didn't do him well, he still has resources that could open doors for him. Though privilege seems to play a theme here, the dimensions are interesting, though not congruent.