Vengeance
In his feature debut, B.J. Novak chaws on the meaning of morality.
All my dead exes live in Texas: B.J. Novak and Boyd Holbrook
Harvard graduate Benjamin Joseph Novak got his start on the second season of MTV's Punk'd, where he took Hilary Duff on her driving test and exposed Rachael Leigh Cook to the horrors of elder abuse. Novak was immortalised as narcissist Ryan Howard on the hit sitcom The Office. His on-again, off-again relationship with Mindy Kaling’s Kelly Kapoor is one of the finest comedic examples of a toxic relationship. Since then, Novak has appeared in a number of strong supporting roles. He rode the ‘uproarious thrill-ride of vengeance’ as one of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. John Lee Hancock's Saving Mr. Banks, the practically-perfect-in-every-way chronicle of Walt Disney’s storied development of Mary Poppins, featured Novak as one half of the legendary Disney composing duo the Sherman Brothers. He last appeared on the big screen in the biographical drama The Founder. Also directed by Hancock, the golden arches origin story trails McDonald's shrewd fast-food businessman Ray Kroc. In his first film since 2016, Novak is the writer, director, executive producer, and leading man of the dark comedy Vengeance.
In a field of abandoned red solo cups, a woman in need of medical attention desperately seeks cell service. Toby Keith’s kitchy song lyrics about America’s favourite drinking receptacle echo over the proceedings, instantly setting the contrasting tone of Novak’s debut feature. Ben Manalowitz (Novak) is a New York City bachelor who doesn’t believe in commitment. The women in his phone are saved under such names as ‘Equinox Cute Girl’. So vague are his recollections, he’s unsure if ‘Random House Party’ is a woman he met at a get-together or the publishing giant. A late-night call with bad news about Abilene Shaw (a casual hook-up he’s titled ‘Texas’), sends him on a bizarre journey to the Lone Star State to bury a conquest he can barely remember. Deep in the heart of Whataburger country, Ben discovers that Abilene’s family has the impression they were far more serious than they were. When Abby’s brother Ty (Boyd Holbrook) shares a wild conspiracy theory that his sister was murdered, Ben launches the perfect True Crime podcast…one in which there is no killer.
With a complex message and more twists than a pretzel factory, B.J. Novak’s culture-wars conversation contemplates our disconnected, internet-driven society and finding your own voice within it. Rather than a collective agreement, the definition of morality seems more individual than ever. In some cases that’s a positive thing, as the US deals with systemic stereotypes within culture. Yet in other ways, such stereotypes feel more believed now than ever before. The digital world has a lot to account for, as algorithms analyse what we like and echo our own thoughts back to us. The film’s melting pot of ideas and tones doesn’t always land, but certainly provokes thought, which is of course the point. Benefiting from strong supporting performances by Novak’s former Punk’d pal Ashton Kutcher, and the well-cast Shaw family, B.J. Novak presents a fresh and welcome voice. The greatest insights come from unexpected sources, demonstrating that the world isn’t as easily defined and different as opposed sides might think. We may be surprised to learn just how familiar and comfortable another person’s cowboy boots can be.
CHAD KENNERK
Cast: B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Isabella Amara, J. Smith-Cameron, Lio Tipton, Eli Bickel, John Mayer, Louanne Stephens, Zach Villa, Clint Obenchain, Ryan Hammond, Ben Whitehair, Grayson Berry.
Dir B.J. Novak, Pro Jason Blum, Greg Gilreath, and Adam Hendricks, Screenplay B.J. Novak, Ph Lyn Moncrief, Pro Des Courtney Andujar and Hillary Andujar, Ed Andy Canny, Hilda Rasula, and Plummy Tucker, Music Finneas O'Connell, Costumes Rachel Sage Kunin.
Blumhouse Productions/Divide/Conquer-Focus Features
107 mins. US. 2022. US Rel: 29 July 2022. UK Rel: 7 October 2022. Cert. 15.
Thank you to Metropolitan Theatres
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