The Baxter (2005)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Showalter

Writer (WGA):

Michael Showalter (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A romantic comedy for anyone who's ever been dumped.

Plot:

In the style of a Howard Hawks comedy, Baxter follows the twists and turns of a young man's life during the two weeks before his wedding. |

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Dartmouth University | Brooklyn | Secretary | Wedding Planner

Cast

Michael Showalter	...	Elliot Sherman
Elizabeth Banks	...	Caroline Swann
Michelle Williams	...	Cecil Mills
Justin Theroux	...	Bradley Lake
Zak Orth	...	Wendall Wimms
Michael Ian Black	...	Ed
Catherine Lloyd Burns	...	Stella
Peter Dinklage	...	Benson Hedges
Paul Rudd	...	Dan Abbott
Katharine Powell	...	Sonya Simmons
Jon DeVries	...	Alan Swann
Donna Mitchell	...	Judy Swann
Haviland Morris	...	Kate Lewis
David Wain	...	Louis Lewis
Jim DeMarse	...	Leonard Sherman

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief sexual humor and some drug references.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

IFC Productions

Trivia:

Michael Ian Black and Catherine Lloyd Burns play a couple named "Ed" and "Stella". These are the names of two television shows starring Michael Ian Black.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the Dartmouth pep rally flashback, Tanner is holding a girl's lacrosse stick.

Quotes:

Wendall Wimms: I have an aunt who was married in Mankato.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'The Baxter' (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Fall In

An absolutely delightful sort of aside in the whole romantic comedy industry

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