Brian Crano's film A Bag of Hammers is part of the modern subset of indie dramedies, films that try to embrace cultural or social issues but finding a proper mix of quirky humor and twisted situations that somehow bizarrely mirror real life with a touch of humor and dash of heartbreak. While this mini-genre is at its fullest popularity, Crano's film doesn't reach the brilliance that other films similar has done.
Ben (Jason Ritter) and Alan (Jake Sandvig) are two friends who make a living by stealing cars through their valet service (how they aren't caught, the world may never know) and sublet part of their house to a struggling single mother, desperate to get a job and provide for her son. The boys end up taking care of the child themselves and must decide whether they are ready to move past their own adolescence to raise a son as their own.
The plot suggests class statements, coming-of-age, and a type of conflict that would usually inhabit a Fox sitcom or a 1980's comedy. While some of these ambitions play out, most of them fall flat or are too jumbled to reach any real potential. Ritter and Sandvig give it their all, with Chandler Canterbury given a misdirected performance of vague longing. The film relies on a soundtrack to convey emotion instead of proper, driven dialogue to propel the narrative to create something more. The film has it's heart in the right place, but the execution denies it's ultimate success.
C
Ben (Jason Ritter) and Alan (Jake Sandvig) are two friends who make a living by stealing cars through their valet service (how they aren't caught, the world may never know) and sublet part of their house to a struggling single mother, desperate to get a job and provide for her son. The boys end up taking care of the child themselves and must decide whether they are ready to move past their own adolescence to raise a son as their own.
The plot suggests class statements, coming-of-age, and a type of conflict that would usually inhabit a Fox sitcom or a 1980's comedy. While some of these ambitions play out, most of them fall flat or are too jumbled to reach any real potential. Ritter and Sandvig give it their all, with Chandler Canterbury given a misdirected performance of vague longing. The film relies on a soundtrack to convey emotion instead of proper, driven dialogue to propel the narrative to create something more. The film has it's heart in the right place, but the execution denies it's ultimate success.
C