Rent-A-Pal

Plot

1990: David, 40, looks after his dementia mom. He uses a video dating service to no avail. He buys a "Rent-A-Pal" video tape and things change.

Cast

The directional debut of Jon Stevenson and stars Lord King Emperor of all us nerds, Wil Wheaton.

Verdict

Rent-A-Pal was a movie I watched because I wanted to see something before bed and I couldn't be bothered to spend much time scrolling through the streaming service. I had no expectations, I had never heard of the film and I was going in blind and that's rare and appreciated.

If you're expecting a horror, you'll be disappointed as it simply isn't Think of it as a slow burn thriller with the core themes of loneliness and mental health.

It's a solemn sad tale that doesn't really let up, it's dark, it's gripping and unexpectedly it was surprisingly unique and kept my attention throughout.

Wheaton was great here, the films construction is solid and though I'd argue it's very niche it worked for me and I walked away deeming it one of the better movies I've seen in a while.

Rants

Something I took away from the film was nostalgia, did I ever participate in VHS dating? No, in fact I don't know if it's ever been a thing here in the UK and certainly doesn't come across very practical. But VHS, the 90's, it reminds me of the good ol'days of visiting Blockbuster, that wonderful feeling of a VHS block and the noise it made when you moved it. I miss those days, digital doesn't have the same magic.

Breakdown

Very unique Fascinating premise Good performances Very niche Drags in places.

Long and slow movie to get to the end. It's a bit creepy which was a nice tone once it got to that part. The lasagna was the real villain in this movie.

40 year old David lives at home with his 73 year old mother and acts as her full-time carer as she suffers from dementia. After unsuccessfully trying to find love via a video dating agency for the last 6 months, David opts to buy a video called Rent-a-Pal hoping that this will provide him with a viable short-term substitute. However, the more David watches this video the more he finds his life spiralling out of control...

Rent-a-Pal is an example of a film that does a slow-burn approach correct; there's an almost quaint, sedate, direct-to-video feel about the first half of the film as David quietly goes about his day-to-day life looking after his mother. But as things progress there's a simmering tension to the picture as David's obsession and gradual detachment from reality begins to unfold...

It's fair to say that the contrast from the first half of the film to the second half is a tad jolting and some may be taken by surprise at just how disturbing and brutal the film becomes in its second half (me included), but if you can hack it then the film does provide a good examination in to the gradual descent in to madness of a lonely individual; you can make what you will of David's interactions with Andy, but personally I feel that David was 'hearing what he wanted to here.' most of the time.

The acting is pretty good and helps to create the disturbing atmosphere that permeates the film; particular mention should go to Brian Landis Folkins for his terrific portrayal, but Wil Wheaton's creepy turn is also worthy of mention.

Rent-a-Pal is both disturbing and bizarre, but at the same time it's compelling and fascinating to watch (although I'll admit it won't be for all tastes). Still if you can handle these sort of things in a film then you're in for something of a treat with Rent-a-Pal.

In a modern world where horror movies are forced to apply the golden rule of "a scare every 10 minutes", a film like 'Rent-A-Pal' is a refreshing alternative. Not enough films respect their audience anymore, but this one does - almost to a fault. It comes in at 108 minutes long, which is roughly 18 minutes longer than 95% of modern horror movies. And it is significantly slower and more drawn out than those other films as well. This is a film that isn't going to be rushed or hurried along by anyone. It knows where its going and the route it wants to take to get there, and that's what it goes about doing. The results are pretty decent.

After reading the synopsis for 'Rent-A-Pal' I wasn't exactly sure how the film was going to go. It was hard for me to imagine how they could pull off a film like that. Even still, as I was watching it, it was more unique than I expected it to be. It was hard to know whether the film just wanted you to buy into the concept, or whether there was more going on than met the eye. The film does get quite uncomfortable at times. They didn't want to make it easy on the audience and they certainly did a good job of making us squirm through the awkwardness of certain scenes.

'Rent-A-Pal' never feels in your face, or like its going out of its way to impress you. It's quite an understated film in that sense. It's a film where a long way into the runtime you may be asking yourself exactly where this is going - but in a good way. You'll ask that in a sense that you want to know, rather than out of frustration. The ending was reasonably well done I thought, without being anything mind-blowing. I had a good time with 'Rent-A-Pal' and I would call this a slightly above average film worth having a look at.

Loner David (Folkins) lives with his mother who's riddled with dementia and longs for a deeper connection in his life. After video dating doesn't go his way, he discovers a VHS tape in a discount bin for something called Rent-A-Pal. Upon putting the tape in the VCR, he meets a jolly new friend named Andy (Wheaton) who becomes his latest obsession.

Soon, all David wants to do is stay in the basement talking to Andy on the TV as his mental capacities slip away and even Lisa (Rutledge), a potential love interest, can't pry him away.

Rent-A-Pal harkens back to the bleak 70's psychodramas of yesteryear and this downbeat tone might not be to everyone's taste. It also leaves a good deal up to individual audience member interpretation and doesn't spell everything out for you.

The performances are uniformly excellent all around with Folkins carrying the film with his sad sack David. It's to his credit that he remains watchable even while playing such a pitiful and desperate character. Wheaton is every bit his equal as the too-chirpy Andy who might be more sinister than he initially lets on.