Movie Review: Brian and Charles (2022)

Directed by

Jim Archer

Quirky little comedies like Brian and Charles are what independent film is all about and why it is important to still provide opportunities for films like this to be released in theaters.

From the moment Brian and Charles starts, it screams Sundance film.  Based on a short from 2017, screenwriters and stars David Earl and Chris Heyward expanded their short into a full length feature directed by Jim Archer, making his feature film debut.  The premise I felt was very similar to another indie hit from 15 years ago, Lars and the Real Girl.  David Earl plays Brian, a lonely inventor living in a secluded cottage outside a small town in Britain.  His inventions are horrible, either because of their impracticality, their ineffectiveness, or a combination of the two.  A perfect example of this was his attempt to fly a bicycle over town with a grandfather clock strapped to the back so all in town could just look up to find the time.  When Brian finds a mannequin head in a trash pile, he decides to try his hand at building a robot.  By some miracle, the robot works.  Embodied by fellow screenwriter Chris Heyward, the robot names himself Charles and bears a striking resemblance to Jim Broadbent (if Jim Broadbent were 7 feet tall, had the torso of a washing machine, and spoke with a 90's computer voice).  In Charles, Brian has finally found a companion, and with the confidence he gains from this relationship, he is able to strike up more friendships in town, especially with an equally unique girl Hazel, played by Louise Brealey.  Eventually, Charles develops an adventurous curiosity that wants to travel the world.  This rebellion, along with the town bully getting curious as to what Brian is up to, leads to their new partnership being threatened.

Brian and Charles falls into a problem many films of this nature face.  The first 15-20 minutes of this movie are brilliant and creative as you see Brian walk you through his life in a style reminiscent to The Office.  This start, which no doubt was the basis for the original short, is outstanding.  However, once the film starts to transition to the second act, you start to wonder how they are going to pull an entire 90 minute movie out of this concept.  Although the film remains engaging and entertaining for the most part, it meanders its way through the middle third as it works to set up a very predictable conclusion.  In no way is it a polished product, but it also is not intending to be one.

What makes this film worth it is the wonderful characters created and the film's giant heart.  You can't help but fall in love with the bumbling Brian as he wanders his way through life as only he can.  Then there's Charles.  The absurdity of the situation forces you to instantly connect with him.  The bond he and Brian develop is odd yet special.  Not everything works as he matures and rebels, but enough works to allow you to follow it.  The more I think about it, it feels very similar to The Office.  Brian, much like Michael Scott, doesn't know how to be anything but genuine and authentic.  Think Michael Scott builds a robot.  That's not too far from the vibe of this movie.

I am pleasantly shocked that a film like this is able to get a semi-wide theatrical release in a time like this.  It is films like Brian and Charles that are getting squeezed out of theaters by blockbuster after blockbuster.  However, nothing beats finding a tiny little gem of a film in the theaters on a random night in June.  Go find this film!  It's movies like this we need to support all we can so they continue to have a chance in the movie theaters.

Rating: 3 stars

Watch the trailer here:

SNL 40.9 Review - Martin Freeman, Charli XCX

Original Airdate - 12/13/14

Martin Freeman might be the most successful actor no one really knows.  He's like the ultimate, "You know, that one guy from..." and insert successful project here: The Hobbit, Fargo, Sherlock, British The Office... Yeah, that guy.  He has been the consummate straight man, but can he handle comedy?  Well, those that remember him in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End know that he has the potential to be an all-time great host.  Although this episode wasn't the revelation I was hoping for, it was good enough to hopefully earn a second go-around at some point.

Cold Opening

The Cold Opens have definitely been getting better recently.  This is no exception as Charlie Rose looks into the military's third party torture think tank.  It sounds like quite the downer of a sketch until you see which direction they take it.  Apparently, this torture organization, fronted by Bobby Moynihan and Kyle Mooney, has thought up every type of time-wasting torturous activity we deal with on a daily basis.  This successfully took a downer of a topic and made it a winner of a sketch.

Monologue

I'll admit, the monologue was slightly lacking.  After discussing the fact that nobody knows who he is, we discover that apparently all Brits are the same and know each other.  On the positive side, we get to see Taran Killam's Alan Rickman impersonation and see Kate McKinnon be an old fashioned Brit.  For as good as this episode, and Martin Freeman, could be, this monologue was pretty bland.

Weekend Update

One of the reasons I was excited to see Colin Jost and Michael Che running Weekend Update this season was it freed up Cecily Strong to bring back Update characters, like "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party," and create new ones, like this week's "One-Dimensional Female Character From a Male-Driven Comedy."  Outside of having terrible names, these characters are so much fun.  They are her best bits she does on the show.  Second came Sasheer Zamata's first outing as herself as she discusses Apple's racism.  It sounds random until you realize iphone's hundreds of emojis do not have any of black people.  It's an interesting revelation that Sasheer vents on wonderfully.  Last, we have everyone's favorite Bar Mitzvah boy, Jacob.  That character never gets old.

Best Sketch

The standout sketch from this episode combined two of Martin Freeman's most iconic projects.  What did Bilbo do after he went on his adventure?  Well, he went to work in the British version of The Office.  Now, I have never seen that series, but I have seen the American version which gives me enough context to know that this sketch is genius.

Worst Sketch

This episode's worst sketch looked like it had a strong start.  The two talk show hosts were entertainingly annoying, and the concept of teasing the next segment a little too long and frequent is a great concept for the sketch.  The problem is it just went on too long, too far, and too stupid.

Dark Horse Sketch

Really none of the post-midnight sketches were strong enough to be worth mentioning so I went with one from earlier in the show that I really enjoyed.  One of the main cultural events of the holidays is people who usually don't go to church show up.  Some people call them "Chreasters" (Christmas/Easter) since that is when they come to church.  This sketch is a commercial for going home for the holidays and back to church with all its quirks.  You can tell this must have happened to a few of the writers as so many of the stereotypes they jump on are right on the mark.  Anyone who has experienced any sort of church stereotypes before will appreciate this sketch.

Grade

Although no sketch was truly great in this episode (perhaps with the exception of "The Hobbit Office"), no sketch truly failed miserably.  It was a fairly consistent episode from start to finish, led by its host.  Martin Freeman showed that he has the perfect skill set for a show like this.  I hope he stays relevant in pop culture, not only so more people will start to recognize him, but also so he can come back and host the show again.

***B***

View the full episode here: