Watched it last night for the first time. Although it wasn't "slapstick" humor, I still felt it was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, it seemed almost like a breath of fresh air. Not as formulaic as a lot of other comedies out there, thank goodness. I especially enjoyed Luke's character of Wendell Baker. He comes across as being forever boyish until he does experience loss in his life. Harry Stanton and Seymour Cassel really do bring a unique air to the film, being septuagenarians with a fervid love of life. Kristofferson's character I felt could have used a bit more development, but is overall well acted nonetheless.

The soundtrack to this movie really helped a lot. If it had to be called a flavor, I'd call it "Texas BarBQ"...flavorful, colorful and spicy. Very unique.

In short, this would be the kind of movie you could watch with your family and not be embarrassed.

As played by Luke Wilson, Wendell Baker is the kind of character authors like to refer to as a "lovable rogue" - a smooth-talking scam artist with a tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe (to borrow a phrase from scripture, if I may be so bold). The trouble is that a good-hearted guy can run afoul of the law for only so long before he risks losing the woman he loves (Eva Mendes) and before he is finally forced into taking a long, hard look at his life. Thus, once he's paroled from prison, Wendell decides to go straight by taking a job at a retirement home (he's been duped into believing that this is a first step on the road to a career in hotel management) run by a sadistic administrator (Owen Wilson) and his toadying staff. There's a little of the feel of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," as the con man leads the put-upon inmates of the "asylum" in a well-coordinated rebellion against their oppressors.

The chief attraction of "The Wendell Baker Story" is the opportunity it affords us of seeing the Wilson brothers appearing together in the same movie - and what a treat it turns out to be. Luke has written a script filled with the kind of dry, wry wit that has been the hallmark of both of their performances over the years, and their scenes together crackle with understated cynicism and humor (Luke co-directed the feature with yet another brother, Andrew, making this a family affair in the fullest sense of the term). The movie is also blessed with an amazing team of supporting players, including Harry Dean Stanton and Seymour Cassel as spry oldsters who find a supportive helpmate in Wendell Baker; Kris Kristofferson as a mysterious, stoic resident who is harboring a carefully guarded secret about his past; Will Ferrell as the grocery store owner who is Wendell's chief rival for his now ex-girlfriend's affections; and Eddie Griffin who serves as chief henchman for the home's scalawag of a director.

Their performances and the laidback tone of the humor compensate for the occasional dry spots and the fact that the movie itself doesn't really add up to all that much when all is said and done.

Most people know Owen Wilson. Many people know Luke Wilson. Few people are probably familiar with Andrew Wilson. He's the hand with the BB in it in The Royal Tenenbaums. He pops up from time to time in Anderson movies and other movies with the Wilsons in them. But maybe he's a bit more camera shy and doesn't want to be an image on the screen, so for the most part he hasn't followed the same path as his brothers. Now, apparently, he's directing. Cool! This is probably the hardest type of movie to review. Simply stated, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it isn't very good.

The imagery is nice. The story is pleasant, but predictable. The humor I get, but it's kind of slow and isn't really memorable. Character development feels added as an after-thought, but at least it's there. It honestly feels like O Brother Where Art Thou? meets My Name is Earl without the skill of the former or the humor of the latter. It's a very non-specific movie, which is why I feel very non-specific about it.

I'd state that as an entertainment medium, it's worth a rental, but that it probably won't be on shelves for long. In the meantime, Luke and Andrew Wilson show enough skill in directing that perhaps either or both of them can go on to make some much more interesting movies in the future. For now, though, I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone in particular as it doesn't really feel like it has much personality.

--PolarisDiB