More and more, I’m finding that the romantic comedy is not a dead genre. While the latest Jennifer Aniston vehicle might be stinking up the multiplexes, the underground scene is adapting and producing fresh romantic comedies right under our very noses. Only they don’t have big name actresses or actors, so you’re most likely never going to hear about them. The Truth About Average Guys is one of these films, a neat indie flick that plays with the romantic comedy formula from a very male perspective, but always maintaining a sense of realism and eschewing the overtly sentimental trappings of the Hollywood romantic comedy. While the romantic comedies in theaters will leave your eyes bleeding from the saccharine sweetness of it all, a movie like The Truth About Average Guys will leave you pondering the complexities of real world relationships… and have you laughing out loud at the same time.

The film is about a dude named Jason who works at an office. He has a crush on a super hot chick… but the only problem is he’s average as hell. So he does what any romantically-reaching nobody would do, he pays the mail guy twenty bucks a week to give him her mail so that he can go and drop it off at her desk. While questing for the always elusive “in,” he discovers that the girl has a mentally challenged sister. Jason enlists the aid of his vulgar, but hilarious, thespian friend to pose as his retarded… err… mentally challenged brother. From there, Jason builds a fantastic relationship with the girl of his dreams, a relationship built on lies. From there, things get complicated. It’s a solid plot that is executed brilliantly on a very small budget.

Directors Ken Gayton and Jason Schaver, also the stars and writers of the film, do a fantastic job of creating a serviceable romantic comedy. The film’s dialogue pops and will have most people laughing for a good chunk of time. The two directors also do a solid job of getting solid performances from their cast of no-names, performances which go a long way to making up for the lack of visual creativity in the film. This is, of course, the biggest flaw of the movie. It lacks the dynamism to elevate itself into the stratosphere of being great. Many of the conversations are static, intercut with scenes where the lighting and the sound are mismatched, and they often involve watching a person sit stock still while talking. The conversation construction within the film could use a little spicing up, as there are entirely too many scenes of people sitting still in chairs or on couches. It’s always good to have your actors doing two things at once, because a straight up conversation composed of back and forth close-ups simply doesn’t cut it in most cases. But I have to hand it to the duo of Gayton and Schaver, as their dialogue is good enough to overcome this handicap that would destroy most other romantic comedies. I suppose part of the problem lies in the fact that the two main actors in the film are also the two directors as well. It’s awful hard on an indie project when you basically have to set up a camera, roll tape, and then film the shot without any movement.

Cast-wise, The Truth About Average Guys is stellar, especially for a budget of this size. Ken Gayton is believable in his role, and serves as a very nice “average” guy in the film. He’s just innocuous enough to make his antics seem fantastic, but not completely unbelievable. On the flip side of the coin, we have Jason Schaver, who plays Troy, Jason’s friend who has to pretend he’s retarded. Schaver is hilarious in this role, and he’s easily the highlight of the film. He comes off like a more toned down Jack Black as he spouts out quick digs and passive aggressive complaints throughout the movie. The rest of the cast is equally impressive, and there are very few weak links in the film, which is a rarity for an indie comedy, or an indie movie in general.

As far as humor goes, The Truth About Average Guys is definitely skewed towards the low-brow end of the spectrum. If you find yourself unable to laugh at tard-centric humor, then you’ll most likely have a hard time enjoying the film. The jokes are definitely of the locker room variety, but they are funny if you’re into that sort of thing. The LPM’s drop off in the film’s last twenty minutes or so, but what romantic comedy doesn’t? It’s an inherent flaw within the typical romantic comedy structure, but the guys on this film do their best, and the laughs never completely dry up.

While I was on the precipice of completely writing off romantic comedies, this film has drawn me back from the edge and supplied me with a new hope for the genre. The film feels like it’s much more expensive than it actually is, and Schaver and Gayton make lemonade from lemons for the most part. I would love to see what these guys could do with another film under their belts and an increase in budget.

Final Synopsis: The Truth About Average Guys is definitely a dude-skewed romantic comedy. That’s not to say that only guys will like it, but they will definitely be more inclined to like it. It’s got the laughs, a realistic ending, and it is a good time to sit through.

Points Lost: -1 for some sound problems, -1 for some lighting inconsistencies, -1 for scenes of conversations that feel to static, -1 for the LPM’s drying up

Bonus Points: +1 for Jason Schaver as Troy; the motherfucker was hilarious

Lesson Learned: Always have an actor as a friend; they are good at pretending to be retards so you can get in some chick’s pants.

Burning Question: What is the weirdest scam you’ve pulled to get a little action?

The Truth About Average Guys
7/10

The Truth About Average Guys (2009) - New DVD Movie Reviews9.31023

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