I haven't seen this many old coots getting up to no good since Cocoon.
The Wendell Baker Story is, not surprisingly, about Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson), a Texas con-man whom you can't help but like. When gets a wake up call when he winds up in jail for his misdeeds, he finally wakes up. He misses his best friend Reyes (Jacob Vargas), his long-time girlfriend Doreen (Eva Mendes), even his dog (played by Wilson's actual dog, Brother).
Not wanting to be separated from those he loves again, Wendell decides to
turn his life around and get into the hotel business after getting inspired by the autobiography of hotelier Conrad Hilton. When he gets out, he goes to work at the Shady Grove Retirement Hotel. Little does he know that the evil head nurse, Neil King (Owen Wilson) and his right-hand henchman McTeague (Eddie Griffin) have plans to use him as a fall-guy for their own corrupt schemes.
Everyone is familiar by now with the talents of the Wilson family. Owen is in nearly every other comedy that hits the box office, and co-wrote the fantastic Rushmore, Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums with Wes Anderson. Luke is a romantic lead capable of opening a movie (if it is possible, he is even handsomer in person). And lesser-known third brother Andrew even has quite a few acting credits to his name (Idiocracy, Bottle Rocket).
Luke penned The Wendell Baker Story (and co-directed it with Andrew), and it appears that unfortunately Owen is the only brother with a real knack for screenwriting. The Wendell Baker Story is meant to be a good 'ole boy comedy in the vein of the '70s movies of the same ilk. But the thing is: I didn't find it funny at all.
Okay, fine, there are a couple of moments, like when two of the Shady Grove residents (played by Seymour Cassel and Harry Dean Stanton) are hitting on some young girls. But mostly, the humor just wasn't there and I couldn't get invested in the characters. Given, I'm not The Wendell Baker Story's target audience--it's a guy's film for sure, and I'm not really into the whole Dukes of Hazzard oeuvre.
I could go into a whole slew of details of what I didn't like about who, but honestly, the movie fails to motivate me to do even that. The bottom line: as much as I love Mr. Luke, I'd give The Wendell Baker Story a pass.
ReelzChannel Rating: 