Writers, aspiring authors, and journalists seem to get flack no matter where they turn in an increasingly math and science driven world that, while undoubtedly improving the life and sanctity of humanity through unforeseeable technological and scientific innovations, still inherently neglects the humanity and the eccentric qualities that the aforementioned groups of people work to establish within nearly everything they do. In such times, where opportunities for jumpstarting their writing projects have been given more accessibility but, in return, less professional credibility, we logically turn to other writers to discuss this problem or, ambitiously enough, seek out films to help us deal with the common struggles of a writer, to which Ellie Kanner's Authors Anonymous seemed like a solid bet for a film attempting to profile a group of aspiring writers.
Authors Anonymous never really establishes whether or not it wants to be a practical account of a group of goofy writers whose ultimate goals are to get published and become recognized for what they do or if it the film wants to be a broadly done satire profiling the common caricatures of writers. I have a feeling the film leans more towards the second category than the first, however, that only makes my ongoing review even harsher, for the film not only squanders opportunities and commentary with this approach, when it should be overflowing with them, but also greatly diminishes the resonance this film could have with writers everywhere, myself included.
The film has a plethora of great stars, all of whom I hope to see in better films as soon as possible. The film revolves around a group of aspiring/struggling writers, whom gather at their authors anonymous meeting - although they openly state their names, which defeats the purpose of the group's name, yet I digress - to discuss their stories and their ambitions, while giving and receiving personal feedback. The group is run by Henry Obert (American Pie's Chris Klein), an amiable pizza delivery man and carpet cleaner, who is suffering from a wretched case of writer's block and disillusioned by his monotonous existence all the more. That is until he meets Hannah Rinaldi (The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco), a woefully dim but cheery and attractive writer who, while never reading a book in her life, let alone naming a famous author, manages to score a publishing deal for the book she wrote. Once she manages to become a regular at the authors anonymous (but not really) meetings, she is quickly envied by the other authors in the group, including the uptight David Kelleher (Jonathan Banks), the do-nothing William Bruce (Jonathan Bennett), and the annoyingly delusional but incomparably ambitious John K. Butzin (Dennis Farina), who aspires to one-up everyone in the group by looking to get his novel published and made into a movie, directed by Clint Eastwood, to disastrous results.
The way I see it, each author is supposed to represent a different kind of author we encounter or read about. While Henry is optimistic, he's also burdened by the inability to capture his thoughts adequately on the page, while Hannah is the kind of person who's ignorance and lack of any real fundamental knowledge of the field are neglected by others and, of course, she walks away with a publishing deal. Meanwhile you have David, who carries a tape recorder along with him to voice his spur-of-the-moment ideas, however, never actually using them, William, who is simply in it for the ride, talking a lot but never actually writing, and John, the writer who deludes himself by saying all is going well and on the up-and-up for his writing career when it's anything but.
Yet, writer David Congalton doesn't really acknowledge or dive into the purpose of these caricatures, making them lumber through tiresome setups with every scene, allowing their same flawed personality traits to be seen. This does nothing more than erect a tired, one-note joke where we become so caught up in the character's naivety and inherent stupidity that we don't care anymore. We came to see a version of ourselves, but all we get are the broadstrokes of actual human beings that exercise in that odd cinematic void where complete and total stupidity is passed off as reality. Not to mention, the film is also shot like a reality show, ironically adding realism to the one film this year that has about as much realism as Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Authors Anonymous bears some positives amidst a whirlwind of issues. The cast is always watchable and committed to their roles, regardless of how obnoxious or undercooked they are, the film bears the kind of original setups that you're interested in, even on a small note, just to see where they end up, and the film isn't without certain moments of humor. However, Authors Anonymous, like a muddled adventure book, lacks an identity or a resonance with broadly-drawn satire or attempts at a comedy authors can relate to, never identifying with either and unfortunately failing if classified as both.
Starring: Chris Klein, Kaley Cuoco, Johnathan Banks, Johnathan Bennett, and Dennis Farina. Directed by: Ellie Kanner.
