The ugly beast that is the film industry never ceases to amaze. In their fervor to release one big-budget action movie or gross-out comedy after another, they’re all but eliminating any chance of a smart, classically funny film featuring a fine ensemble cast actually finding an audience in theaters. This is the case with Meet Bill, which played at a few festivals, notably premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007, before being unceremoniously dumped into no more than 36 theaters for a two-week run, without any sort of a marketing push at all.
Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Thank You for Smoking) is Bill, a man whose life seems to be progressing nicely. He’s got a cushy job at a bank, a beautiful wife, and a nice home with a white picket fence. The problem is, Bill is an unhappy man. He only has that cushy job because the beautiful wife’s father owns the bank. He also suspects her of having an affair with the local news’ ace reporter. When he actually catches her in the act via video, she indignantly accuses Bill of invading her privacy and the video somehow gets gets uploaded to the internet, including his wife’s comment about his “little acorn”. It’s at this point, with the help of a student he’s reluctantly mentoring and a lingerie salesgirl, that Bill decides to make some changes in his life and finally realize his dream of becoming his own man and opening up a donut franchise. On the surface, Meet Bill might seem like a run-of-the-mill story about a guy who learns about life from someone half his age, but there’s something special about this one. Perhaps it’s the combination of a well-written script with plenty of realistic humor and a series of delightful performances from a very strong cast, particularly Elizabeth Banks (Definitely, Maybe) as Bill’s wife, Jess, and Logan Lerman (3:10 to Yuma) as The Kid (never referred to by name in the movie). Make no mistake, though: this is Eckhart’s film through and through, and he’s up to the challenge. He’s rarely had a bad role, but his portrayal of Bill is so spot-on that any guy roughly Bill’s age will be able to relate, regardless of whether they’re going through anything remotely similar to what Bill is going through.
Directed by husband-and-wife team Melisa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann from a script by Wallack, Meet Bill‘s strength is in the subtle yet not-so-subtle comedic scenes that are perfectly played out by every member of the cast, including Todd Louiso (School for Scoundrels) as Bill’s brother-in-law, Timothy Olyphant (Stop-Loss) as the reporter, Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man) and Reed Diamond (TV’s Homicide: Life on the Streets) as Bill’s gay brother and his partner, and SNL‘s Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig as the couple trying to sell Bill a donut franchise. It is indeed a large cast, and the fact that Wallack directed her own script definitely helped get the most out of them. The sole weak point is when Jessica Alba’s (The Eye) lingerie salesgirl Lucy shares the screen with Lerman’s character. In an otherwise decent performance by Alba, it’s regrettable that there’s little on-screen chemistry between her and Lerman, especially considering that The Kid is infatuated with her and is trying to impress her with his charm. That being said, watching Meet Bill is not unlike watching a 90-minute episode of Arrested Development; the comedy is quirky yet whip-smart, and as outlandish as the situations in the film may seem, they’re still believable.
Although it’s nicely presented in a 16 X 9 widescreen version with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, there’s not much by way of spectacular imagery or aural displays to showcase the technology. That’s not really taking anything away from Meet Bill, though, as it’s not that type of film.
Deleted Scenes
The only special feature on the DVD is about 15 minutes worth of deleted and extended scenes, a few of which comically show just how down and out Bill has become in his high-profile (but dead-end) job as a VP of human resources. There’s also one extended scene in which Bill and The Kid discuss life in Bill’s car in a parking lot that should have been left in the film in place of a scene where the two get high and cavort around the store owned by Bill’s brother, Sargeant.
Admittedly, straight comedies with an almost middle-aged main character going through a slightly premature mid-life crisis are not de rigueur these days (or any other day, for that matter), but dismissing Meet Bill out of hand would be a mistake, because it’s a smartly written comedy with a very solid ensemble cast. With any luck at all, Meet Bill will find an audience on DVD. Much like Bill himself, it deserves a second chance at life.
