THE ANSWER MAN
Written & Directed by John Hindman
Produced by Kevin Messick
Released by Magnolia Pictures
USA. 95 min. Rated R
With Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings, Nora Dunn & Tony Hale
 

There is a certain amount of value in clichés when it comes to answering the unanswerable. But alas, they do not afford entertainment, especially not a full-length feature’s worth.

Arlen Faber (Jeff Daniels) ostensibly has all the answers. After all, when a person writes a book called “Me and God,” the world may naturally assume its author to be a sort of modern-day prophet, or at least a step-up from a fortune cookie.

Which is exactly Arlen’s problem. On the eve of his phenomenally successful book’s 20^th anniversary, the man who everyone thinks can talk to God is a cranky, misanthropic recluse who spends his days immersed in other self-help/enlightenment/you-will-see-the-light-in-30-minutes books, tapes, and techniques in order to find his own personal nirvana. Introducing: irony.

Granted, writer/director John Hindman wrings some very funny scenes about today’s self-help industry, an industry worth about nine billion dollars in the U.S. alone. The opening montage of the hype surrounding “Me and God”’s initial splash into popular culture, (including, at one point, a nutrition manual spinoff) is a nice little piece of satire. Much of the movie’s humor derives from Daniel’s expert performance in softhearted crankiness. Under all of Arlen’s brusque Grinchy rudeness, you know a heart is waiting to grow.

Enter Elizabeth (Lauren Graham), a chiropractor who, with a few well-placed cracks around Arlen’s aching spine, is simultaneously able to cure his chronic back pain and drag him back into humanity. Add a bookstore owner (Lou Taylor Pucci), who exchanges Arlen’s used books for answers-to-life questions, and the path for Arlen’s spiritual renewal is laid.

Graham and Pucci both give convincing performances. Graham, as a wisecracking single mother, gives a gentler variation of her Gilmore Girls character. As a recovering alcoholic, Pucci does his best with his limited role, even if his mental state seems to be largely governed by his appearance. Messy hair and a leather jacket equal angst, while a slicked-back coif and a button-down shirt hold the key to recovery. Olivia Thirlby, as Elizabeth’s sweet but neurotic assistant, and Tony Hale, as Arlen’s star-struck mailman, manage to steal every one of their scenes.

Although Elizabeth may hold the solution to Arlen’s difficulties, it is upon her entrance that the film’s issues begin. Hindman seems to want to take the movie in two different directors—a satire and a romantic comedy. While each independently could function, the film is never able to interweave both. The result is a tidy, pat bow of a denouement that wraps up the story, but leaves its themes unexplored.

While there is nothing wrong with a stock romantic comedy, or with a gentle spoof on the self-help culture, the film’s premise calls for something harder. The problem with Answer Man is the fact that it provides answers. For Hindman, heaven, not hell, is other people. Life’s questions deserve something more than a predictable Hollywood ending, even if the running time is a limiting 95 minutes.  Lisa Bernier
July 24, 2009