Jim Gaffigan and Rhea Seehorn in Linoleum (Shout! Studios)

The fantastical and droll Linoleum is essentially Donnie Darko in the throes of a mid-life crisis, but more wistful and less adventurous.

Cameron Edwards (Jim Gaffigan) hosts a local children’s science TV show out of his suburban basement. His sunny, jaunty persona contrasts with what is going on in his personal life. His wife, Erin (Rhea Seehorn), seeks a divorce, and he doesn’t understand his teenage daughter, Nora (Katelyn Nacon). Meanwhile, a famous astronaut named Kent Armstrong (also played by Jim Gaffigan) moves across the street. He has arrived in town to take over Cameron’s job. And if that weren’t enough, a rocket lands in the Edwards’ backyard, and they must move out of their house and into the house of Erin’s prying, judgy sister.

To top it all off, Cameron is having what may be hallucinations—a car falls from the sky right in front of him, ejecting a man who looks just like him and Kent. An article about the incident is in the newspaper the next day, but no one else besides Cameron thinks this is particularly noteworthy. Meanwhile, Cameron visits his father in a nursing home and has strange conversations with a doctor, played by Tony Shalhoub with a veil of inscrutableness. All in all, Cameron, frustrated and adrift, believes if he could rebuild this rocket, he may be able to find his drive again.

We have seen the suburban middle-aged man who is dissatisfied with the outcome of his life so many times, and we have seen the shrewish wife who is disgruntled with the discontented middle-aged suburban man so many times that it is really hard to put a new spin on it. Writer/director Colin West tries, but Gaffigan is so low-key, even in his moments of anxiety, that you can’t really get into his head and empathize with him. Seehorn, a very talented actress, can do little with her part because the role is pretty much underbaked. West tries to punch things up with a certain laid-back quirkiness and a sense of unease, using red herrings and narrative sleight of hand to put viewers off their guard, but the result doesn’t quite impart the profundity he is clearly striving for.

Another story line focuses on daughter Nora and her flirtation with the astronaut’s son, Marc (Gabriel Rush). Interestingly enough, this is more fleshed out and emotionally fulfilling than Cameron’s arc. Nora, played wonderfully by Nacon, is a unique individual, full of spunk and vigor, but with a dark, almost goth vibe and a healthy distrust of conformity. She is working things out and possibly learning to accept that she may never quite fit in. This type of teen has also been portrayed countless times, but West seems more on solid ground and more committed to his younger characters, or perhaps they are less jaded and lost. The quirkiness seems apt when Nora dances around Marc, who has his own awkwardness to wrestle with. Here, West focuses on the curiosity that first love brings and the desire to really understand a potential partner. It feels alive and real.

Eventually, all the oddness and mystery are ultimately explained, and the ending is, indeed, moving, but the impact is still blunted significantly by the pace and the blandness and one-dimensionality of the grown-ups. Gaffigan and Seehorn are fine actors, and they squeeze as much as they can from their parts, but it’s not enough to slake most viewers’ thirst.