I really loved the previews for Dean. I wanted to see it in theaters, but because I didn’t see it as soon as it opened, I had to consider going to a 10 PMish showing, which is normally when I’m in pajamas getting ready to go to sleep if I’m not asleep already, especially on a weekend. It wasn’t going to happen. So I added it to my queue and got it as soon as it became available. I was hoping that finally this film would be one of the few American films about death that did not end in a histrionic fashion or become an outright irreverent comedy, but would be closer to a French film.
I watch special features or extras if they are available on the DVD after the film is done. I like Demetri Martin, the writer/director/lead actor in Dean. I could have easily watched 94 minutes of him and Rory Scovel, who plays Eric, a good friend of the titular character in the film. They are clearly very thoughtful people. I hated Dean, the character and the majority of the film. After watching the extra features, I realized that Martin wanted to explore a lot of his experiences in a fictional, cinematic setting: breaking up with a girlfriend then falling in love too quickly with another woman, being a New Yorker in LA, experiencing an adult relationship with a father figure AND dealing with long term grief.
Because Martin understandably wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make a feature film, he threw everything into the pot instead of exploring one concept fully and making an amazing film. Dean becomes what I wanted it to be once he returns to NYC and is sitting on a park bench with his now married best friend played by Veep’s Reid Scott in his most sincere emotional performance. From that point on, the film stops trying to prove how clever Dean is or how above everyone else he is. It is just pure emotion and human interaction. It becomes a beautiful film, and it is a shame that the entire movie could not have shown that kind of authentic human experience, especially since Martin showed that he is capable of depicting it.
I understand that all of Dean’s interactions and experiences should be viewed through the lens of his grief after a year without his mom, but he is a hypocritical, narcissistic jerk who has no appreciation of how lucky he is. He is making a living as an illustrator and able to live in a brownstone in Brooklyn, NY as if he is a beloved TV father/doctor with a wife who is a lawyer. What!?! He has an amazing father played by Kevin Kline, who does not get enough screen time at all. For just one second, I wish that Dean came from the kind of family who would stop him in his tracks and say, “Our house! It was not our mortgage, our electric bill, our heating bill. Shut up! When I see your money, then we can discuss what we are going to do with our house.” His friends still talk to him even though he openly and regularly scoffs at them, which maybe is a guy thing and is part of the charm. His treatment of his former fiancé is horrific. Sure he is around some awful people, but at some point, he met them and kept them. If you hate everyone and everything, it could be depression or grief, but I suspect that he purposely keeps doing things that he hates for the stories. We have all done it on occasion, but it is important not to live there.
Real talk: Dean thinks too highly of himself. Normally I advise people against comparing themselves to others, but he needs to live in the real world. In almost every situation with a couple of exceptions, he is the worst person in the room. An important part of life is trying to not act like a child, and the passing moment when he realizes that he has the same shirt as a kid was not only hilarious, but a sign from the universe to do better. He is appalled at people who are absorbed with technology in the first half of the film then is inseparable from his phone during the second half. So it is OK when you do it. I think that it is telling that when he really hits it off with the object of his affection, we don’t hear a lot of their interaction, but it is just a montage with music playing. Even at his best, he is kind of a jerk. Being awkward is his most endearing trait. He unfairly gets hit in the face two times in the film, and hitting is not a healthy way to express disapproval, but I secretly wondered if this was actually a common problem for Dean. I think that Martin’s first film should have been illustrated. Dean’s illustrations are the only thing that kept me from wishing him away to the cornfield. His art showed that his soul was not as awful as his actions.
I think that a major mistake, which could be a result of availability, is keeping Dean and his father apart for the majority of the film. It is the central relationship in the film. Klein makes everything better, which is necessary when you have such an annoying main character. It is essential for other characters to show us that it is possible to love this guy. Dean is like the main character in a Dickens novel. He is only as interesting as the people around him and the situations that he is in so to not have the most magnetic actor in the film near him is a fatal flaw. I understand that Martin liked the idea of parallel similar father and son experiences, which would have worked if Dean and his father were equally appealing, but they are not.
The real hero of Dean is Jill, who called characters on their BS, said how she felt, clearly hated Dean and did her best to get her friend away from him. Later in the film, we find out an alternate explanation for Jill’s actions. Either way, I love her, and Ginger Gonzaga stole the film. The most likable flawed human being in the film is not Dean, but Eric, who is an unsuccessful put down pick up artist, but should just be himself, a good friend and cat lover. Dean’s initial reaction to Eric’s genuine affection for Nicholas the cat made me hate him more. The funniest scene is when there is a split screen showing what Eric and Dean are doing as they text each other. Dean is naturally miserable, and Eric is happily choosing the perfect cat toy for Nicholas. Be Eric! Be happy and weird regardless of how others think of you. Martin kills Nicholas off screen (a bookshelf fell on him), and while I understand Nicholas is a fictional character, and the actual Siamese cat is fine, Martin can go fuck himself (not eternally, just once) for that traumatic plot twist. As a cat mom of two fluffy babies, I mean that sincerely. Readers should understand that I’m pulling back from using exponentially harsher condemnation because I understand that Martin knows not what he did since he never got to know any animals.
Dean was made with good intentions by thoughtful people and has perfect moments, but they are too few and far apart to make me not regret wasting precious moments such as going to bed early or playing with my cats. I’m so glad that I did not spend money or effort to se it in theaters.