I love a good day in a life story. Especially when that day is Christmas Eve/Christmas. I’ve seen quite a few of them in my time, but they all haven’t been that great. More often than not, they are convoluted and messy because the filmmaker and scriptwriter don’t know where to go with them. That’s the case with The Baltimorons, the latest film from Jay Duplass, one half of the Duplass Brothers. It starts out interesting but falls apart in the end.

Cliff (Michael Strasser) is a man in the greater Baltimore area who has a fiance Brittany (Olivia Luccardi). They are going to one of  their in-laws’ houses when an accident happens to Cliff. He gets hit in the face by a door. Which makes him have to find a dentist open on Christmas Eve. After multiple calls, he finally finds one open. Didi (Liz Larsen) helps him out with the various needles and things that go into capping a tooth. When he goes to leave, he notices his car got towed from out front, which in turn leads to an adventure the pair end up having during the most festive holiday of the year,Christmas Eve/Christmas. 

Most of the actors in this film are relatively unknown by most people’s standards. I couldn’t find many high-profile projects any of them were in. Duplass assembled an unknown cast, which makes the film a bit of a low-budget indie film. The lead actor Strasser is also the co-writer of the story, so this is probably a passion project for him. As a whole, he puts a lot of himself, it seems into the story. He’s from the area that the movie takes place in and is a man of multiple talents. This is his first big film that he is getting noticed for. He even gets small roles for some of his family members. That’s when you know it’s a small film.

This movie has a few relatable story beats that interested me. The first was an alcoholic angle of the lead character. He has a chip from being sober for six months. This is a recurring theme throughout the film. Much of the story revolves around the lead character being sober and having to justify why he isn’t drinking or hasn’t had a drink. It’s a problem for the Strasser character he constantly is concerned about because drinking was an issue in his earlier life. As an ex-alcoholic myself, I can relate to this. The temptation to have a drink at gatherings and family functions is real. I’ve been sober now going on 12 years, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever accomplished. This was an important part of this man’s process going forward. Strasser did a good job making this a key part of the story.

There are some convoluted story elements that make the movie move forward but weren’t that good. There are various times when either cars get towed or characters get arrested, and when the leads go somewhere, things are so close that they can walk to other places that drive the narrative forward. It reminded me of After Hours to some extent. This kind of film can get boring without these types of unnecessary ways, the script and director push the story forward.  A boat trip because a character has the keys that belong to her ex is the tip of the iceberg. I’m not a fan of forcibly moving the story forward this way.

The acting in the film was good. Strasser, Larson, and Luccardi are all good in their respective roles. There is an element of comedy and a mix of drama as well. This is a typical dramedy, but without a lot of the big laughs I was hoping for. I felt there was more dramatic stuff in the story than comedy. Yes, the lead tries to be funny at times, but the script isn’t that good, so the supposedly funny moments just come across as a waste of my time watching the movie. I wanted to enjoy the idea of what the film was going for, but it didn’t work for me. A second shot at doing this or letting a seasoned scriptwriter do a pass over the script might have been a good idea.

The Baltimorons was trying to be a funny movie with a touching story, but it was more a misfire on those levels. For a cast that was filled with relative unknowns, they weren’t that bad. I’ve seen a lot worse this year from supposedly better actors. The script by Strasser and Duplass was filled with convoluted story elements that were more annoying than interesting. The direction by Duplass wasn’t bad. It was just hindered by a bad script. Overall, this wasn’t as funny as I wanted or hoped it would be. It just came across as an actor/writer wanting to do something for himself that didn’t turn out that good in the end.

2 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen