The Baltimorons

Jay Duplass, who, along with his younger brother Mark, was a major force in the DIY filmmaking movement dubbed "mumblecore" in the Aughts, makes his solo directorial debut with this all-in-one-day romantic and comedic drama that's worthy of becoming an alt-holiday movie staple. Michael Strassner, in his first film, plays Cliff, a recently sober former improv and sketch comedian who, on the way to a Christmas Eve lunch with his fiancée's parents, cracks a tooth that requires him to find a dentist who will see him on Christmas Eve. The one person he finds who takes pity on him, Dr. Didi (wonderfully played by stage actress Liz Larsen), discovers while treating him that her holiday plans with her daughter and granddaughter have been postponed due to her ex-husband getting remarried on the spur of the moment. After a few comical mishaps, Cliff and Didi wind up spending the rest of the day and night together on a cinematically low-key yet emotionally high-stakes misadventure through Baltimore.

I suppose it makes sense now that the Coen Brothers are working separately, that the Duplass brothers, who were inspired to make films by Raising Arizona, would also be working apart. Jay, who has been working in TV as an actor, creator, and producer, hasn't directed a movie since the last Duplass Brothers comedy, The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, in 2012. He has found an excellent new collaborator in Strassner, who co-wrote this film, which draws heavily on his own life. Strassner's Cliff is entirely credible as a mid-level improv/sketch comedian and a recovering alcoholic trying his best to transition into a normal life with his girlfriend, Brittany (Olivia Luccardi). Cliff's addictive personality undercuts this goal, and he's clearly been damping down his impulses along with his feelings and his personality during these first six months of sobriety. The day he spends with Didi is the first time he's felt like his old self without drinking, and he doesn't want the day to end.

Strassner and Larsen have a wonderful mismatched screen chemistry that enables us to believe they would keep hanging out even when opportunities to call it a night arise. The script does not rely on the type of zany, outrageous coincidences that propel similar all-in-one-night movies. The two actors bring a lot of themselves to these roles, which helps make the characters feel like real people. The only time the film falters is during a key sequence in which Cliff brings Didi to a pop-up improv show he's been trying to avoid attending all night. This extended sequence, in which the two protagonists end up on stage together, is key to the narrative, but it breaks the spell the film has successfully cast on us. Fortunately, it doesn't derail the movie.

Part of what makes The Baltimorons special is that it deals with some difficult, often bleak issues in a realistically humorous way. Because the characters are drawn as unexceptional, ordinary folks, the story keeps us guessing about what's going to happen next as Cliff and Didi move from one small set-piece to another, growing closer the more time they spend together. The Christmas Eve setting and the use of the holiday-decorated city give this ultra-low-budget picture a distinctive look that manages to feel warm despite the palpably cold weather. Like Greg Mottola's The Daytrippers and Alexander Payne's The Holdovers, it's an indie that I'll want to revisit in future Christmases because it captures something authentic about the melancholy of the season. Also, like the protagonists, I want to spend more time with Cliff and Didi. This movie should do great things for the careers of Strassner and Larsen, and I hope we don't have to wait another 14 years to get the next Jay Duplass feature.