Written and directed by Bob Byington, man-baby Lousy Carter struggles to complete his animated Nabokov adaptation, teaches a graduate seminar on The Great Gatsby, and sleeps with his best friend’s wife. He has six months to live. Starring: David Krumholtz, Martin Starr, Olivia Thirlby, Jocelyn DeBoer, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Stephen Root, Macon Blair and Luxy Banner.
Some films make their whole style and personality clear from the get-go, and if you don’t like it then, you probably won’t enjoy the rest, Lousy Carter is one of those films. Its offbeat, blunt nature is right at the forefront, love it or hate it, and it has this intentionally low-energy running throughout it. Bob Byington builds his style around the character of Lousy (David Krumholtz), matching his qualities while also creating a classic New York vibe. It all works but it can wain as time goes on, being perhaps overly consistent.
Whereas Krumholtz’s performance captures that consistency but also introduces plenty of grumpy charm and sardonic wit to hold your attention. He captures the classic academic arrogance and selfishness, as well as the superiority complex and lack of social skills, or more accurately an unwillingness to use them. His delivery of the dialogue is excellent as always, his timing and attitude are right on point. There’s also a hugely reliable supporting cast who continue to add to the droll tone, especially Martin Starr and Olivia Thirlby. Luxy Banner’s deadpan, apathetic performance as Gail is a surprising and very welcome addition.
There’s a solid comedy foundation to the writing, it’s entertaining and it moves at a decent pace, especially coming in at eighty-minutes. However, Lousy Carter can feel rather directionless, there’s a few different focuses but none of them truly take the lead. It feels as though the comedy is its only driving force and it’s not quite enough, the story doesn’t involve much development or progress, it has a meandering presence.
Lousy Carter is enjoyably witty and sarcastic but can feel aimless at times. There’s a quality to it that comes across rushed or unfinished, like it needed a bit more time to round out its story. Nevertheless, David Krumholtz is superbly sullen and disapproving, his disdain for most of the world is entertaining to watch and he’s joined by a stellar supporting cast, which make it very worth watching.
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