BOB BYINGTON | USA | 2023 | 80 MIN | ENGLISH
With Lousy Carter, indie filmmaker Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me, PFF21) returns with what is arguably the apotheosis of his career in studying the man-baby archetype. Played with the perfect amount of sleaze by David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer), the titular self-absorbed dunce can’t help dumping his skewed observations of the world and his laundry list of problems on any unlucky soul within earshot. Of course that includes the grad students who must endure his weak pontifications around the relevance and meaning of The Great Gatsby. Things only get worse when Lousy is told that he has a terminal illness. Rather than try to seize the day and make amends, Lousy decides to double down on his undesirable ways and become his final jackass form. Lousy Carter feels like an independent comedy from a bygone time, when the endearing man-child was de rigueur. Yet the film offers a fresh, course-correcting take on the well-worn trope through its fantastic wit and wordplay, sharp editing, and pitch-perfect performances from Krumholtz and a hilariously strong ensemble including Martin Starr, Olivia Thirlby, and Stephen Root.
Cast: David Krumholtz, Martin Starr, Olivia Thirlby, Jocelyn DeBoer
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