A writer from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened to her.A writer from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened to her.A writer from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened to her.
- Awards
- 1 win
- El Stupido Shaw
- (as Eli Abrams Bickel)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene where Kansas City shows Ben her cracked phone screen and says that she keeps it like that because it reminds her of how she feels, mirrors a similar scene in The Apartment (1960) where Shirley MacLaine's character has a cracked mirror in her apartment and explains to Jack Lemmon's character that she does not fix it because it reminds her of how she feels.
- Quotes
Sharon Shaw: It's all regrets. You run as fast as you can from the last regret and of course you are just running straight into the next one. That's life. It's all regrets. That's what they should say. No other way to be alive. It's all regrets. Make 'em count.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Half in the Bag: I Love My Dad, Watcher and Vengeance (2022)
- SoundtracksRed Solo Cup
Written by Brett Beavers, Jimmy Beavers (as Jim Beavers), Brad Warren, Brett Warren
Performed by Toby Keith
Courtesy of Show Dog Nashville
Ben Manalowitz (B. J. Novak) is A New Yorker writer and aspiring podcaster who lives the life of hooking up at bars multiple times a week and engages in empty intellectual banter with friends. One night he gets a distraught call from Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook) from West Texas, saying that his girlfriend, Abilene (Lio Tipton), has died. Ben remembers hooking up with her a few times and finally agrees to come to her funeral since the family believes it was a close relationship.
The film follows his interaction with the family when he learns they all believe that Abilene's overdose death was not accidental. Ben stays with the family, feeling the family seeks a kind of vengeance by believing in a murder myth. We meet the Shaw family, which includes Ty's two remaining sisters, a younger brother, Mother Sharon (J. Smith-Cameron), and Granny (Louanne Stephens). Initially, he writes them off as rural rubes but comes to understand things are more complex than he first imagined. He also meets a music producer, Quinten Sellers (Ashton Kutcher), who spouts theories on life's meaning that intrigue Ben.
Ben interviews the drug dealer, the family suspects, and the four law enforcement agencies that had jurisdiction in where Abilene's body was found. A couple of abrupt plot twists at the movie's end influence the podcast, Ben's self-understanding, and shift the film's concept of vengeance.
I was very taken by the film. The characters that initially seem one-dimensional become more complex as the story unfolds. I didn't see the ending coming. B. J. Novak was excellent as the smug Eastern snob who learns a lot about himself. I thought there were some false notes with Ashton Kutcher's character, but overall I thought the storyline worked.
- steiner-sam
- Aug 2, 2022
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,330,720
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,755,325
- Jul 31, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $4,370,536
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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