Results
Dustin Chase
One of the films mirroring from Sundance at SXSW, Results is shot in Austin, TX and takes a hilarious look at the fit and healthy obsessed American culture. The film has its own irony, but I found all that even funnier to be set in Austin, which is considered one of the most unhealthy American cities. Results is a smart comedy that turns the rom-com on its face thanks to writer/director Andrew Bujalski’s brilliant insights into three very strange but very realistic characters. All three, Pearce (The Rover), Smulders (The Avengers) and Corrigan (Seven Psychopaths) really portray characters you don’t see very often on film. Buljalski writes these guys as people the audience can identify in their everyday lives and who never react in a predictable way.
Power 4 Life is Trevor’s (Pearce) life work; it’s not only a health and fitness mentality with four steps and the name of his gym, but it’s truly something he believes. One of his younger fitness trainers, Kat (Smulders) is a high strung, hot tempered, ambitious employee who constantly fires off demands and won’t settle for anything but complete equality and fairness against the most seasoned trainers. A walk-in client named Danny (Corrigan) joins the gym for all the wrong reasons; he’s a millionaire coming off a divorce who develops a yearning for Kat and their personal sessions at home become increasingly awkward.
A smart comedy that turns the rom-com on its face.
Awkwardness is something Bujalski himself exudes; his own personal style and behavior really projects that of Danny. Bujalski admitted to writing both Danny and Trevor for Pearce and Corrigan, but just like the male bravado in the film, was unsure of who could play such a strong, demanding and eccentric female character. Smulders was a good choice; both she and Pearce have dipped their toes in the Marvel universe and even the age difference is addressed and used to the script advantage here. Bujalski admitted that Pearce could be a big movie star if he wanted, but chooses these small, intimate roles because that’s what interests him. Pearce, who we all remember as the frail character from Memento, really shows off his dedication to fitness and muscle in this role.
I almost saw Results as an expansion on Brad Pitt’s Burn After Reading character without any of the violence. It maintains the audience’s attention, even in some of the film’s repetitive or slow scenes by never fully revealing the characters’ motives. We are constantly surprised by their course of action and the things they say to one another. Results is a film that really understands honest comedy; this isn’t slapstick and it doesn’t do fart jokes or gags you see in mainstream comedies. Even with its pacing and editing faults, Results is
organically funny by way of human observation, and Bujalski gets major points for putting up a strong, uncategorized female character that constantly bewilders the men in the film.
Final Thought
Work’s as an organic and well written comedy with 3 memorable performances.