Tumbledown is too cute for its own good. The movie is a collaboration between director Sean Mewshaw and his wife, writer Desiree Van Til, who both obviously care a lot about the material. But instead of giving us a human drama about a relationship of mutual admiration, we instead get a sugar coated indie that, to my surprise, didn't premiere at Sundance. Not to say that I think it's a bad movie necessarily; I just didn't find much of interest or substance in it. It just kind of coasts along on the shoulders of its charming leads, letting them do what they do best and never challenging them to go outside of their comfort zones.
Hannah (Rebecca Hall) lives in a small town in Maine and is still mourning the death of her husband, a Bon Iver-esque musician who died mysteriously two years before. She is, naturally, a bit of a spitfire, so it comes as no surprise that she is less than thrilled about the arrival of big city professor Andrew (Jason Sudeikis), who has come to town to write a book about her late husband. Hannah and Andrew share a lot of sarcastic, obviously written banter, and once Hannah agrees to let Andrew write the book, they share some more. What they don't share, sadly, is any real chemistry because the movie is trying too hard to make them at odds with each other.
Since this is a quirky indie comedy, there are multiple dog reaction shots and Hannah's colorfully eccentric parents, played by Blythe Danner and Richard Masur (good to see him again). The movie does have some laughs, mostly due to Sudeikis and a few bizarre bits involving Joe Manganiello as a local desperately trying to court Hannah. A lot of the jokes fell flat for me, mainly because all the town's people seem to be competing to see who can be the zaniest. My attention was held until the movie pulls a few third act surprises that exist only to move the plot forward and supply an audience friendly ending. I felt cheated by every one of them, leading me to feel that, in the end, Tumbledown is a more than appropriate name for this movie.
Side Note: Director Sean Mewshaw was in attendance and did a Q&A after the screening. He seems like a very funny and likable guy, and he and his wife traveled a long road to get this movie made. I know he has a good comedy in him, so I look forward to his next project.
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