Vengeance (2022)

 Ephraim Belnap

BJ Novak's directorial debut is a clear stab, but not one especially excellent. 

It's a tale as old as time. Someone gets murdered. And someone comes looking for vengeance. 

BJ Novak - a lead and writer on runaway TV hit The Office - writes, directs and stars in this mystery comedy. His lead, a young writer living in New York, gets a phone call. A girl he used to hook up with has died of an overdose. And her family is under the impression they were more serious than they were, and want him to come to the funeral. The location? West Texas. The pampered, shallow New Yorker auteur is now gonna have to wade through the drug-ridden, catchphrase-spouting, possum-shooting locals. But he clearly has something to learn from them, even if he doesn't want to admit it. 

Vengeance almost feels like a send-up to country classic Napoleon Dynamite. A love letter to kooky mid-West living that's as affectionate as it is absurd. The protagonist is arguably more of an idiot than anyone else, and the takeaway is that just 'cause you're a wise guy doesn't mean you're wise. In addition, the mystery of the "girlfriend"'s death - not just an accident - provides an intriguing thread of discovery as the leads try to parse out how it happened. Fans of BJ Novak - of which there are plenty, since The Office is a worldwide phenomenon - will likely find it worth watching. 

But in truth, the film falls short of great, and barely into goodness. It definitely feels like a first time director, and despite his great writing talent, Novak's script feels surprisingly underdeveloped, perhaps in need of two or three more passes. A colorful cast is present, but almost wasted. And the mystery, while having real potential for something profound to say, is essentially one-note. While the odd person looking to kill two hours won't hate it, it's sadly below the standard one might expect.