THE STORY – After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an unexpected May/December adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist.
THE CAST – Michael Strassner, Liz Larsen & Olivia Luccardi
THE TEAM – Jay Duplass (Director/Writer) & Michael Strassner (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 99 Minutes
Poor Cliff (Michael Strassner). He may have just received his six-month AA chip, but six months ago his drinking all but destroyed his relationship and his career as an improv/sketch comic, leading him to attempt suicide. Now, his fiancée (Olivia Luccardi) worries about him constantly, refusing to believe him when he tells her that he doesn’t want to go back to another improv show, even though he clearly knows that doing so would put him in a level of danger he’s not ready for. To add insult to injury, he trips and breaks a tooth when arriving at his fiancée’s mother’s house on Christmas Eve, leading him to call every dentist in the Baltimore area to find one that will see him. Deedee (Liz Larsen) is the only one who will, and she’s not exactly happy about it. Her no-nonsense professionalism bristles against his loose jokiness, but when he overhears a phone conversation between her and her daughter in which their Christmas Eve plans get canceled, he decides he’s going to give her a great evening, whether she likes it or not.
Thus begins Jay Duplass’s “The Baltimorons,” a wholly surprising walk-and-talk romance that will likely melt even the coldest of hearts. Co-written by Duplass and Strassner, the film has all the low-key mumblecore style we’ve come to expect from a Duplass Brothers Production, but with a piercing level of emotional insight from its stars that elevates it far above those expectations. Deedee and Cliff fit the yin-and-yang enemies-to-lovers mold almost too perfectly – their polar opposite personalities show each other a new perspective that both of them have needed for some time, but haven’t found. Strassner looks like the kind of stuck-in-arrested-development manchild you’d see leading a Judd Apatow film, but his subdued sense of humor keeps every scene fascinatingly unpredictable, as it’s often not obvious whether he’s joking or being serious. Thankfully, he has such a strong core of decency that Cliff never comes across as off-putting in his mild pursuit of Deedee, just sweet.
Larsen is a revelation as Deedee, letting her guard down ever so slowly until a smile or a laugh comes out of nowhere, surprising her just as much as the audience. As she melts and opens herself up to Cliff, the audience does as well, becoming more invested in the pair with each passing scene. Larsen is especially good in the film’s second half after Deedee loosens up and starts to genuinely enjoy her night out with Cliff. She displays not just a sharp sense of comic timing but a keen sense of character, never losing sight of Deedee’s melancholy and anger even when she’s losing herself in a joyful moment. These are clearly two broken people in need of help, and both actors find a beautiful balance between cynicism and sweetness.
The film walks that line very well on the whole, never forgetting that Cliff is relatively early in his recovery journey, not to mention already in a relationship to which he seems completely committed, even as his connection with Deedee deepens. When the inevitable showdown between Cliff and his fiancée comes, it doesn’t feel arbitrary or out of line. Thanks to Luccardi’s performance and the thoughtful screenplay, it’s a stark reminder that addiction affects those around the addict just as much as the addict themselves. The film’s deft handling of certain addiction story tropes is all the more impressive considering that it does so in the middle of a Before Trilogy-style character-driven romance.
“The Baltimorons” is a supremely confident film, juggling multiple themes and tones within a swift 99-minute runtime. Given Duplass’s invisible directorial style, however, it’s easy to discount just how much it’s doing. The film seems shaggy and improvised on the surface, but, as Cliff teaches Deedee in a hilariously uncomfortable climactic scene, improv has plenty of rules to keep everything from going off the rails. The fact that Duplass and Strassner have created something so tightly controlled that feels completely organic, not to mention grounded in strong character work and sense of place, is a testament to their skill as filmmakers. “The Baltimorons” is as delightful as any Christmas-set film should be, but it has just the right amount of acidity to balance out its sweetness – quite a treat.
