Apparently, Robert Mutt is a douchebag. If there’s a lesson to be immediately drawn from the townsfolk in Riverside (actually and obviously Hamilton, ON) it’s that their native son, one Robert R. Mutt, is a man not worth pity or pleasantries, just pure contempt. But what did Bob Mutt ever do to deserve such vitriol? Sure he may be a naïve and gullible dimwit, but he basically means well. You Might As Well Live chronicles Mutt’s attempts to carve a niche for himself in this cruel world and maybe find some piece from this numerous detractors. A Canadian comedy featuring a cast of numerous familiar faces, the film, like its main character, is trying pretty hard to find its place in a cruel, cruel world.
Robert (Joshua Peace) is released back into the wild after spending three years in a mental hospital. He returns home but is kicked out by his little sister who considers him the family embarrassment that could end her burgeoning pop music career. What’s more is that the whole neighbourhood’s been turned against Robert, with the local Snidely Mr. Steinke (Stephen McHattie), accusing Robert of being the local pervert that’s been bringing child pornography into their block. Desperate, Robert gets a job selling contraband for a local gangster, but his complete lack of street smarts results him losing thousands of dollars in guns, drugs and sex toys. Seemingly all alone, Robert looks to inspiration from his hero, provincial baseball league champion Clinton Manitoba, but can drug-influenced delusions offer true insight?
The answer is no of course, but do you think that stops Robert from trying? Hardly. The film’s storyline is fairly pedestrian, a combination of jokes that either highlights Robert’s lack of mental acuity or employs shock jock style crude humour in an attempt to offend, or both. What I do admire however is dedication. Comedy is hard, but if a group of actors really throw themselves into the world and the script, I find that otherwise transient material is elevated to something watchable. Certainly Peace, who also co-wrote the script, deserves a lot of the credit for making Robert so bubbleheadedly likeable that despite his obliviousness, his porno moustache and his really terrible taste in attire, you can’t help but like him. Robert Mutt may be like numerous other dim bulb accidental heroes that have graced screens big and small, but you got to love Peace’s low key style.
Other standouts in the cast include the aforementioned McHattie, who is to die for in clown make-up; he’s the slightly deranged Mr. Wilson to Robert’s oblivious, grown-up Dennis the Menace. The “Hey, how did you get here” Award goes to Michael Madsen. Yes, Mr. Pink himself has a very special role to play as Robert’s hero Clinton Manitoba. Underneath the horrible 70s hair, a potbelly and the general overall grizzly demeanour reminiscent of John Wayne in True Grit, Madsen is almost unrecognizable. Good thing if he ever hopes to reclaim his tough guy image. In a short but memorable role is Liane Balaban as Robert’s potential suitor Edna Kemperton, a woman with a burning desire… to set fire to city hall. (Robert’s response when he later sees a news report about city hall being set on fire: “Wow. She did it. Good for her.”)
Indeed, Robert Mutt may not be a douchebag, but his misadventures offer 90 some minutes of rather harmless diversion, and hey, you’re getting to help Canadian talent at the same time. You Might As Well Live may unfold as formulaically as a comparable Hollywood comedy, but I respect what this cast of talented actors did with the material. This is no frills, character-driven comedy that manages to make you chuckle and do it often. If anything Robert Mutt is mildly entertaining, and so is You Might As Well Live for that matter. You Might As Well Live is playing an exclusive run at the Bloor Cinema starting Friday August 28th.
