The Wendell Baker Story (2005)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Directors:

Andrew Wilson
Luke Wilson

Writer:

Luke Wilson (writer)

Release Date:

3 August 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Why not call him a hero?

Plot:

Luke Wilson plays a good-hearted ex-con who gets a job in a retirement hotel. Three elderly residents help him win back his girlfriend as he lends them a hand in fighting hotel corruption.

Plot Keywords:

Spoof | Beautiful Woman | Frat Pack | Illegal Immigrant

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Luke Wilson	...	Wendell Baker
Eva Mendes	...	Doreen
Jacob Vargas	...	Reyes Morales
Owen Wilson	...	Neil King
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Skip Summers
Kris Kristofferson	...	L.R. Nasher
Seymour Cassel	...	Boyd Fullbright
Eddie Griffin	...	McTeague
Will Ferrell	...	Dave
Angela Alvarado	...	Irma (as Angela Alvarado Rosa)
Jo Harvey Allen	...	Wanda King
Buck Taylor	...	Bob Draper
Billy Joe Shaver	...	Reverend Shackelton
Azura Skye	...	May
Nicole Swahn	...	Lucy

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some crude and sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Denmark:A | Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Möbius Entertainment

Trivia:

According to Luke Wilson, producers were able to raise money from investors by claiming that he was his brother Owen Wilson.

Quotes:

Neil King: [Neil is spoofing Wendell Baker in front of McTeague] "Thank you very much for this job. It's my first job in the hotel buisness

Soundtrack:

Evening Gown

a good laugh and an easy watch

The Wendell Baker Story will never be listed as movie classic. It will not score at acting awards, and it does have a profound message. That said, it manages to entertain, make us laugh and smile, and provide through enjoyment without insulting our intelligence, and without resorting to endless car chases, fire crashes, or silly special effects.

What we have here is old-fashioned movie entertainment – solid acting, an engaging story, and all of the basics done solidly: costuming, direction, lighting, editing, and, especially, music.

Both Luke and Owen Wilson are more than competent in their respective roles as a light-weight con man and a conspiring old home administrator/head nurse. Indeed, I saw a little more acting talent here than in Owen Wilson's other recent attempts, such as Behind Enemy Lines.

While Owen and Luke's name may be at the head of the credits (along with their brother Andrew, who is the film's Director), the best performances come from Harry Dean Stanton and Seymour Cassell, who play playful, but sincere and believable residents of the old age home where Luke Wilson's character works, and which Owen Wilson's character runs. Alas, the same cannot be said for the legend Kris Kristofferson, whose roll comes off as predictable and trite, with the same artificial "I am wise and serene" facial expression done far too many times.

The story is easy enough. Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson) spends his time scheming his next (read first) fortune, planning all kinds of shady and illegal schemes. Baker and his friend (played by Jacob Vargas) get caught providing fake Texas identifications to illegal immigrant farm workers. He ends up in a federal jail in Texas, where he gets along well and does not seem to miss his girlfriend, played by Eva Mendes.

Baker is eventually paroled, and ordered to work at a "retirement hotel." While little happens at the retirement place, Baker does not learn of an ongoing to scheme to ship seniors to Oklahoma, so that the administrators can collect their pension checks and sell their medicines on the black market. OK, so it is not Shakespeare. It is light, it moves at a good pace, and Wendell becomes more and more liked by the audience.

If one looks, there are messages to be had. We are reminded that senior citizens have passions and sex drives, that the people pouring across the border from Mexico largely just want to work and get by, and that all of us deserve a second chance. Bets of all, we learn this by being happily entertained by a fun, easy-going movie.