Wally Spivak is a middle-aged, scrawny, (allegedly) 5'7 man with objectively unappealing looks and a most terribly miserable, pessimistic and dour aura. He possesses all the charm of an incontinent chihuahua yet for some inexplicable reason he manages to bed a gorgeous woman named Jeanine played by Maggie Lawson, befriend her jock Brit fiance Chuck played by Robert Kazinsky and then bed Jeanine's best friend Tammy (a Laker girl no less!) played by Ahna O'Reilly.
It seems to bother no one around Wally that he has no redeemable qualities, that he is sour and bitter at the world for his lack of success in life. He seems to feel entitled to having all of his wildest dreams met as he mopes around fecklessly, barely managing to utter a full sentence when someone speaks to him. Instead starring back at them vacantly as if he had soiled himself and desperately needed to go home to clean himself up.
He pines for a beautiful wife, a best-selling book and the respect of his peers and is resentful of anyone who has managed to attain these things. Perhaps the most infuriating thing about this movie is that Wally gets everything he wants without ever putting anything on the line for it and without possessing any of the qualities one would need to achieve those ambitions. Maybe this story is just the amalgamated, longwinded fantasies of the creators Anthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder? Perhaps they have felt like a "Spivak" in their own lives, tired of seeing the "jock" get the girls and the success.
The only interesting character in the whole story remarkably was Chuck! Falling well into the "jock" trope, Chuck is a golf pro who is good-looking, well-built and confident. But he seems to be searching for something more out of himself and is unhappy just going along with the status quo. A beautiful girl, a great job, a nice home and a fast car don't seem to fulfil Chuck. He wants to be challenged and takes a series of gambles in hopes of shaking up his life. We see him transform from a preppy, country club yuppy into a thoughtful, introspective and curious free spirit, willing to take risks in order to grow as a person. Chuck is the main driving force behind the whole movie and one could even argue that this movie is actually all about Chuck, as even the final scene ends with him cathartically expanding his horizons in China.
There's a good way of making this kind of underdog movie where the Woody Allanesque character gets the girl and the money in the end but that has to come with some sort of real character progression that is carefully written. Sadly Spivak offers us none of this and we are asked to believe that such an unredeemable character can just chance his way into all of his wildest hopes and dreams. I ain't buying it. Especially when the direction, writing and acting are as forced and uninspired as they are in this movie.
It seems to bother no one around Wally that he has no redeemable qualities, that he is sour and bitter at the world for his lack of success in life. He seems to feel entitled to having all of his wildest dreams met as he mopes around fecklessly, barely managing to utter a full sentence when someone speaks to him. Instead starring back at them vacantly as if he had soiled himself and desperately needed to go home to clean himself up.
He pines for a beautiful wife, a best-selling book and the respect of his peers and is resentful of anyone who has managed to attain these things. Perhaps the most infuriating thing about this movie is that Wally gets everything he wants without ever putting anything on the line for it and without possessing any of the qualities one would need to achieve those ambitions. Maybe this story is just the amalgamated, longwinded fantasies of the creators Anthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder? Perhaps they have felt like a "Spivak" in their own lives, tired of seeing the "jock" get the girls and the success.
The only interesting character in the whole story remarkably was Chuck! Falling well into the "jock" trope, Chuck is a golf pro who is good-looking, well-built and confident. But he seems to be searching for something more out of himself and is unhappy just going along with the status quo. A beautiful girl, a great job, a nice home and a fast car don't seem to fulfil Chuck. He wants to be challenged and takes a series of gambles in hopes of shaking up his life. We see him transform from a preppy, country club yuppy into a thoughtful, introspective and curious free spirit, willing to take risks in order to grow as a person. Chuck is the main driving force behind the whole movie and one could even argue that this movie is actually all about Chuck, as even the final scene ends with him cathartically expanding his horizons in China.
There's a good way of making this kind of underdog movie where the Woody Allanesque character gets the girl and the money in the end but that has to come with some sort of real character progression that is carefully written. Sadly Spivak offers us none of this and we are asked to believe that such an unredeemable character can just chance his way into all of his wildest hopes and dreams. I ain't buying it. Especially when the direction, writing and acting are as forced and uninspired as they are in this movie.