The Wendell Baker Story (2005)

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.

Directors:

Andrew Wilson, Luke Wilson

Writer:

Luke Wilson

Stars:

Luke Wilson, Eva Mendes, Jacob Vargas

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Near the Texas-Mexico border, Wendell Baker has a few things going for him: his genial nature and optimism and the love of Doreen. His troubles? He dances around telling her that he loves her, and his idea of work is illegal. He's arrested, imprisoned, and she puts him behind her when she realizes that even prison is just a good excuse for him to play football with the guys. When he is paroled, it's to a job in the "hotel industry" at a board and care home for seniors, where the head nurse is running a scam. Three of the residents respond to Wendell's good heart. Can they expose the scam and help Wendell win back Doreen?

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Plot Keywords:

prison | nurse | old age | fantasy sequence | pet dog | 

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Taglines:

Why not call him a hero?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

3 August 2005 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

A Wendell Baker balhé

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$48,120 (USA) (18 May 2007)

Gross:

$127,144 (USA) (6 July 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Möbius Entertainment, MHF Zweite Academy Film, Franchise Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luke Wilson hired his mother, a professional photographer, to take stills on the set. When Mrs. Wilson saw that photographer Mark Seliger was also taking stills she demanded that Seliger be fired. Instead, Luke fired his mother. According to Luke, the crew was unhappy about this and brother Andrew Wilson rehired Mrs. Wilson.

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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

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Soundtracks

"Waterfalls"
Written by Sleepy Brown (as Patrick Brown), Marqueze Etheridge, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes (as Lisa Lopes),
Ray Murray (as Raymon Murray) and Rico Wade
Performed by Owen Wilson and Eddie Griffin

User Reviews

Enjoyable...loved the soundtrack

Watched it last night for the first time. Although it wasn't "slapstick" humor, I still felt it was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, it seemed almost like a breath of fresh air. Not as formulaic as a lot of other comedies out there, thank goodness. I especially enjoyed Luke's character of Wendell Baker. He comes across as being forever boyish until he does experience loss in his life. Harry Stanton and Seymour Cassel really do bring a unique air to the film, being septuagenarians with a fervid love of life. Kristofferson's character I felt could have used a bit more development, but is overall well acted nonetheless.

The soundtrack to this movie really helped a lot. If it had to be called a flavor, I'd call it "Texas BarBQ"...flavorful, colorful and spicy. Very unique.

In short, this would be the kind of movie you could watch with your family and not be embarrassed.