A Legacy of Whining

"A Legacy of Whining" is a terrific and off-beat comedy focused on midlife crisis, and it's served with a delightful slice of dark humor, loads of fantastic pop culture references, and uniquely colorful characters.

What we have here, ultimately, is a highly engaging buddy movie. Mitch is our whiner in question; he's a fifty-something aspiring actor, and is played with a dry and knowing sense of campiness and neurosis. Endearing, annoying, and manifesting pure retrograde nostalgia, Mitch is just neurotic enough to talk himself out of getting laid at a brothel. He's reacquainted with polar-opposite pal Dunc after thirty years, and off we go.

The engine of "A Legacy of Whining" is its highly engaging script; it brims with humorous dialogue clothed in sarcasm, self-deprecation, gags and one-liners. But that engine is fueled, too, with wistful truths for those of us from a bygone age stumbling through the transformations of a modern age - we ourselves don't really change, but the world sure does. It's in that vast and scary landscape that the big-hearted "A Legacy of Whining" bridges into social satire and delivers its truly unique impression.

A great movie to relax with, this largely comedic story has far more behind the laughs and quirky characters, there is real heart and charm here. Enjoy the solid performances, the witty script and the light hearted atmosphere. Well worth a watch.

Producer/director/writer/"actor"/soundtrack contributor and his reviewer friends would have you think so. From the first few lines of the plot summary I thought, maybe. Nope. 20 minutes in and I'm done and I think that's generous. Should have read the whole summary along with all the effusive reviews. That would have nailed it. Like a coffin. Instead, the quality of the screenplay following the dialog with the bit players in the opening scene was the exact opposite. Too bad, because the panhandler, hooker and chauffeur know their craft and deliver gold. I wanted more of that but the nausea introduced with Mitch's first few lines crept up unabated however, as Mitch's old-school buddy appears and they fade into the background. Then in contrast to Duncan's phoned-in performance, Munro's overacting really grates. But, I think this has potential and could be a work in progress. First, tighten up the dialog (maybe one of your reviewer friends could help with that). Then, hire a director, re-cast the lead or take some acting lessons (perhaps from one of the bit players). Then maybe you have something. Less is more, Mitch. Then get your friends to update their reviews to reflect reality.

This is a nice indie gem. It's listed as a comedy, but don't expect a farce here. This story is deeper than that. It's interesting to see these characters meet up after thirty years for a high school reunion only to have found they have either changed a lot, or actually not much at all. The two main characters play off of each other well. There is some good exploration of "mid life crisis" in funny ways. Some of it kind of off beat or dark humor. But the movie has a sense of charm as well. There are a few scenes that seem like they go on a little bit longer than they should, but stick with it, it gets fun. It's definitely what one would describe as a "character driven" film. If you're into indie films, it's worth giving a try.

Good stuff. Good to see a not so cynical piece of comedy coming from the indie space.