Review: Limited Run
The D-Train | Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel | USA | 2014 | 98 min
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Despite typically strong work from Jack Black, the uneven The D Train fails to explore the gravity of its premise and the complexity of its two lead characters.
Jack Black has proven time and time again that he is one of the greatest living comic actors (High Fidelity, School of Rock). He also demonstrated versatility in Richard Linkater’s Bernie, in which he immersed himself in that title character and transcended a lot of his previous work. He gives an equally strong performance in The D Train, but the film is too uneven at times to carry the weight of its own premise. Black’s performance may turn out to be a footnote in his career that only his diehard fans will remember.
Black stars as Daniel (Dan) Landsman, who, much like this film, is having an identity crisis. He married his high school sweetheart of fourteen years, Stacey (Kathryn Hahn), with whom he has teenage son. They live in an idyllic little suburb of Pittsburgh. His work life is not the most satisfying even though he is well liked by his technophobic boss, Bill Shurmer (Jeffrey Tambor).
Dan is the only member of his high school reunion committee who has the password to the reunion Facebook page which, in essence, makes him the chair of the committee. We can see the unbearable weight of sadness on Dan’s face early on as he prepares for the committee meeting. Other committee members do not share Dan’s excitement about the reunion. They have struggled to get anyone to attend, but Dan remains optimistic about the outcome. His confidence does begin to wane when the group goes out to get drinks without him, despite his efforts to invite himself along.
Things are not looking good for Dan until one evening he watches late night TV and notices an ad for Banana Boat sunscreen. A tan, cut, good-looking stud on the screen is none other than Oliver Lawless (James Marsden) the most popular guy in high school. Dan is convinced that if he can bring Oliver to the reunion, he will be a hero (thus the film’s tagline: Every reunion needs a hero).
Dan is desperately uncool and Black nails Dan’s unawareness of that fact. This self-delusion makes Dan an even sadder figure on some level. It’s one thing to be unpopular, but watching him try to contort himself into some alternate reality about who he really dials up the pathos. After a few attempts to reach Lawless, Dan finally hears back from Oliver and the two decide meet up for drinks.
Dan buys a new wardrobe from H&M and communicates in the worst brocabulary imaginable to seem cooler than he is. But in Hollywood, no one is what they seem and Oliver is no different. He is just as eager to impress Dan as Dan is to impress him. In one scene, Oliver sees Dermot Mulroney at a table with friends and wants to impress Dan by pretending that he and Dermot go way back. His awkward small talk with Dermot is one of several cringe worthy scenes in this film. Dan is so psyched to be friends with Oliver, he fails to notice that there are some obvious signs that Oliver is not really living the life of Riley.
After a night of booze and drug fueled revelry, they go back to Oliver’s place and things get quite interesting. The film makes a shift in tone and leaves its viewers wondering how they should respond emotionally. One of the issues I’m having with my own reaction to the film is that it is billed as a comedy. There are definitely comedic elements to the movie but I felt like co-directors Andrew Mogul and Jarrad Paul had an opportunity to do so much more with this film. The comedic premise seems to be set aside for something much heavier, arguably almost darker in tone. The D Train feels like two distinct films, and both end up being somewhat mediocre.
Both Dan and Oliver are much more complex than they seem to be on the surface. Dan clearly has issues with his identity and he desperately clings to some notion that he is a cool guy. In this social media age with instant gratification and the ability to create any persona you want, some of us are undergoing an extended adolescence so to speak. Dan has all the trappings of a happy life. How he finds himself in this current predicament, on the surface, makes little to no sense. How far is he willing to go to get Oliver to like him? Is it really worth it?
Who is the target audience is for The D Train? Apparently quite a narrow one. While it challenges a lot of bro comedy tropes, it fails to explore new territory. Dan tearfully turns to his teenage son for advice. This role reversal is straight out of Wes Anderson’s book where the adults act like children and in this case, the son is faced with a very adult situation. Similarly themed films like I Love You, Man or Forgetting Sarah Marshall are effective due to their evenhandedness and character arcs with development and closure. Dan’s issue, on the other hand, feels unresolved given the impact it’s had on his family and others. Maybe, internally Dan forecloses on an identity but it felt shallow and unfinished somehow. Clearly, some of Dan’s needs were not met early on in his adolescence and now he has a shot at redemption. One of the more salient messages from this movie is that you don’t need external validation. Dan’s journey to that conclusion is a rough one indeed but he does come up with the goods to put some of this turmoil to rest and move forward.
The filmmakers fortunately do not wade into the kind of humor that would completely humiliate Dan, but the gravity of the situation is not given the full examination it deserves. While the film might fail as a comedy, it often succeeds as a character study of a man who really is in a lot of pain but has no outlet for it. Jack Black was perfect for this role and the rest of the cast pull their own weight as well. But The D Train still disappoints due to its unevenness. If Dan and Oliver’s complexity were explored more in depth, I think Mogul and Paul would have had a hit. Hopefully, we will get to see Jack Black continue to flex his skills as a versatile actor in the future.