Filmmakers have been making movies about teachers or professors who are having a midlife crisis for years now. Wonder Boys starring Micheal Douglas comes to mind. More recently About Dry Grasses, Czech film, and Miller’s Girl came out and neither were my cup of tea. They both feature teachers dealing with some issues. Lousy Carter is the latest film with a teacher/professor who is having a midlife crisis, or dealing with some personal problems, and like the aforementioned About Dry Grasses and Miller’s Girl, it’s not exactly very good.

Lousy Carter (David Krumholtz, Oppenheimer) is an animator of some note but makes his living currently as a professor at the local college in the town where he lives. He teaches one book, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. He’s not feeling very good so he decides to go to a doctor. What the doctor says isn’t good. He gives him a diagnosis of death within six months. This messes with his head. He ends up doing a bunch of things he usually wouldn’t do which gets him into a bit of trouble. 

Bob Byington wrote and directed this film about a man who’s having some trouble in his life. He infuses this character with a sad demeanor.  His ex played by Olivia Thirlby, his friend and coworker Kaminsky played by Martin Starr, and his mother all think he’s a lost cause. He starts to not care about his job until a spunky student Gail (Luxy Banner) takes his class. She starts to call him out on his BS. They have a witty repartee with each other which leads to lively,  intelligent, and humorous conversations. She’s just what he needed in his life.

The two start working together on another animated film but word gets out and he gets in trouble for having out-of-school contact with a student. Even though she’s very skeptical of his idea in the first place. The death of his mother and a funeral and eulogy at a bowling alley don’t make things better for him. He just spirals downward even more. This man is a sad sack. He has no redeeming qualities. It’s hard to root for him. I can relate to him a little bit though. Not regarding the illness but other things in his life like the death of his mother.

David Krumholtz has recently come on the scene in the biggest film from last year, Oppenheimer.  He plays the friend of the title character J Robert Oppenheimer.  He’s doing great work in that film, but in Lousy Carter he just comes across as a little bit creepy and a bit of an Eor, the donkey from the Winnie the Pooh animated films. He just seems down on himself too much. Even though he did have that tragic diagnosis.  He should try to live more considering the circumstances he’s in. Krumholtz does the best he can with this character. It’s not easy being depressed and down on your luck like this character is.

The supporting cast of this movie is filled with good comedic actors, but they aren’t doing much better than Krumholtz in their roles. It seems Thirlby, Starr, Trieste, Kelly Dunn, and the others are playing just as depressed and miserable as Krumholtz’s characters. Stephen Root plays a psychiatrist and hes doing a terrible German accent. He’s been much better before, in the HBO dark comedy series Barry. Banner is the only one besides the school commandant who has any life in her. She saves what would be an abysmal film and just makes it not good. This isn’t much to like in this film besides her. She is a find for the casting director. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Lousy Carter is a film that makes me think of its title in serious terms. Just because something bad could happen to you doesn’t mean you should be miserable for the rest of your days. The writer/director Byington forgot one thing about screenwriting and directing, making the characters interesting and making the story something people would want to see. I haven’t exactly been having a great time lately but at least I’m trying to make the most of the life I have. Even though I sometimes think dark thoughts. This guy is miserable and can’t get his head on straight.  This is a depressing film with an equally depressing cast. This is not a terrible film but it’s not good either. 

The film will be screened at the Downer Theatre on 4/13/24 at 6:00 pm, and at the Oriental Theatre on 4/17/24 at 9:00 pm. 

2 stars

Dan Skip Allen