classicsoncall Review of Vengeance

Vengeance (II) (2022)

"Everything means everything. So nothing means anything."

[7/10 · 29 October 2022]

There you have it, right there in my summary line. I think Seinfeld would approve. The line was uttered by Quentin Sellers (Ashton Kutcher) expounding on life's truths, he even claimed that it was the defining truth of our time. If that leaves you scratching your head, don't worry. A lot of the film is like that. Take 'Whataburger' - a lot was made of the idea that it was right there. Sure enough, the Shaw's brought Ben Manalowitz (B. J. Novak) to a Whataburger, and wouldn't you know, it was right there. The story makes use of some absurd situations as Ben tries to negotiate his way among them while writing for The New Yorker and developing his assignment into a podcast. Enticed to West Texas upon the request of Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook), the brother of a woman Ben had a brief fling with who subsequently died, Ben suddenly finds himself involved in a murder investigation which turns out to be a sham. Abby Shaw (Lio Tipton) was an opioid addict and died of an overdose, a fact conveniently omitted by music producer Sellers, who brought her to an 'Afterparty' where there was no cell phone reception, and located at the juncture of four overlapping police jurisdictions that found it easy enough to pass the buck on any kind of meaningful investigation. I would never have seen the resolution to this story coming the way it did, and you won't either, take my word for it. Generally, I find quirky movies like this to be right up my alley, but this one kind of went out on a limb and stayed there. Where, you might ask? Well, right there.