灯火阑珊处 Around the Bend review by TIM KNIGHT

A cloying mixture of whimsy and sentiment, Around the Bend tries so hard to wring tears that it ultimately leaves you cold. There's not one moment that feels honest or truly heartfelt in this ponderous saga of fathers and sons from first-time writer/director Jordan Roberts. While it only runs 85 minutes, Around the Bend is one of those films that feels infinitely longer. What very little dramatic force this film has comes courtesy of Christopher Walken, whose off-kilter presence cuts through some of the hokum. Doing his trademark eccentric shtick, Walken is the sole bright spot in Around the Bend.
Joshua Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) stars as Jason Lair, Roberts' bland Everyman hero, a divorced bank employee living in colorful squalor with his young son Zach (Jonah Bobo) and crusty grandfather Henry (Michael Caine). Trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy in the jumbled Lair household is a struggle for Jason. Henry's Danish live-in attendant Katrina (Glenne Headley) seems more intent on watching gory horror films than caring for Henry, who's cheerfully planning an elaborate, ritualistic ceremony for his imminent demise. Then, in true prodigal son fashion, Jason's ex-con father Turner (Walken) appears unexpectedly, looking suitably haunted. Although Henry is delighted to see Turner, Jason has never forgiven his father for abandoning him years ago. But when Henry expires at the local KFC, Turner and Jason must put aside their differences (shocker, huh?) to embark on a road trip with Zach to honor Henry's last request.

In one of the more bizarre examples of product placement in recent memory, Kentucky Fried Chicken figures prominently throughout as integral to Henry's ritualistic send-off. The Lairs must eat all of their meals at KFC and Turner carries Henry's instructions in a grease-stained bag from the Colonel. Like everything else in Roberts' sappy and predictable screenplay, this "quirky" narrative conceit feels extremely labored. The main characters all harbor secrets that are obvious from the get-go in Around the Bend, which grinds interminably towards the inevitable confrontation/reconciliation scene between Jason and Turner.

As for the actors, only Walken manages to rise above the sentimental muck of Around the Bend. So often relegated to playing the wacky villain in studio films (exception: Catch Me if You Can), Walken rarely gets the chance to play a sympathetic role like Turner. Walken's as idiosyncratic as ever, but he infuses the role with an almost palpable sense of regret and sadness. Caine (Last Orders) is fine in his glorified cameo. He also gets to check out early, whereas Lucas, a charming actor reminiscent of Dennis Quaid, gets saddled with a thankless role as Jason, an uptight, humorless stiff.

Utterly contrived and tonally inconsistent, Around the Bend should have been titled Off the Maudlin Deep End.

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