Bart Got a Room (2008)
Bart Got a Room(2008) Directed by Brian Hecker. Written by Brian Hecker. Starring Steven Kaplan; Willian H. Macy; Cheryl Hines; Jennifer Till; Jon Polito; Alia Shawkat
Brian Hecker writes and directs this would-be comedy/coming of age story about high school senior Danny Stein (Steven Kaplan). The title is supposed to be something of an ongoing joke as Bart is one of the biggest nerds in the grade, and thusly, if Bart got a date/hotel room/limo then certainly Danny should be able to do the same, but the joke never really connects. And that’s the trouble with Bart Got a Room- it’s neither funny enough to be a straight comedy, or poignant enough to stand on its own as a more dramatic coming of age story. The result is an awkward tonal blend that seems to be reaching for a dry sense of humor it never quite achieves. William H. Macy as Danny’s divorced, lonely father Ernie sports a ridiculous hairdo and (likely solely due to Macy’s talent) is the most interesting character in the film. The problem is the story centers Danny, who is as bland a protagonist as one is likely to encounter. Danny’s dilemma is that he wants some action on prom night and therefore doesn’t want to go with his lifelong friend Camille (played by an underutilized Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development). Cheryl Hines plays Danny’s Mom Beth, a character who is perhaps even more uninvolving than her son. Jon Polito and Jennifer Tilly are part of a solid supporting cast, but in Hecker’s script no one is given enough to do. One can see the potential here, and there was definitely more room to exploit the Florida environs populated by oldsters, but Hecker needed to commit to either an all out comedy or a more grounded drama. The time frame too seems to be current day, but might have been more effective using a retro vibe it seems to aspire to. Perhaps budget played a role in limiting what the filmmaker could do, but as is often the case with films that try to toe the line between genres, Hecker winds up telling an only vaguely amusing story about characters we mostly don’t care about.