The Baltimorons

This movie really surprised me cause I started really annoyed at this guy, he's such a douche, so, so annoying and basically a pest for these women and then, gradually, he became tolerable and even okay. Still not cool about his fiancée but damn they really built that chemistry. And again in the beginning I was really hoping, praying even that this wouldn't go the romance route but I can kind of see it, at least for one crazy night these two go together and she kind of is a beacon for him actually, or they take turns, but I guess it's been a while since a woman looked at him like that and who wouldn't get drunk on that... I mean it's good it ended when it did cause where would you go with this story and even in real life to have that even is rare but to keep it going is surreal so... This Duplass guy has a knack for these stories of awkward, very different people somehow relating to each other and connecting and emoting a bunch and that's why the first 20 minutes got me so upset cause I wasn't seeing it, but they got it on track thankfully. Still not cool about the fiancée though.

I go through phases where i take in a lot of one type of media, and vice versa, and I've been back on films. Usually when i enter a phase like this it because i have some new outlook, and the thought thats really been guiding me along this time is that "I think I like a public 6 more than a public 7" (funny enough i always rate them 8 XD)

My last 2 movie phases were "I want to find my absolute favorite films of all time" and i did, and "Maybe popular movies are not bad" and i was wrong, they are. So i looked back at all my favorites, including childhood ones I'd somewhat abandoned, and i realized i really movies that fall in the mid-6's.

A lot of these movies use well-tested setups but take risks with them, and i think thats what i like. They tend to be well made indie films with great casts and low budgets that are very heartfelt. My favorite movies ever are certainly great, but the upper 6's are what get me through life, something that everyone needs. If they tried to be 9s or 10s, they'd probably be 4s or less. Rather than trying to change your life they just reflect it, and there'll be a few moments you always remember and you can share with others, like its your special movie.

I didn't talk about the movie at all hahahaha. The leads are fantastic, its a movie about people talking, people changing. Its got some piercing dark moments that really touch home, and a ton of funny scenarios. Its best you go in without me coloring your view of the thing. Watch the trailer for the movie, if it interests you in any way, put it on, it might make a really important memory.

I hadn't appreciated Baltimorons was a Christmas film so seeing it at a festival in July was an unusual experience but to the film's credit it quickly immersed me in Christmas vibes. It successfully creates an appealing wintery aesthetic that is often the foundation of a seasonal film that stands the test of time.

Baltimorons for me falls into a genre of the 'elevated Christmas film'. It has a very modern and serious topic at its centre while still deploying heartwarming, familiar troupes.

The lead character is obnoxious and overbearing while simultaneously charming and vulnerable. The film centres on an eventful, spiralling Christmas eve spent with an unexpected companion. Both characters are well developed with their own issues to contend with and there is genuine chemistry in the performances.

The Baltimorons is funny and charming and is certainly a successful Christmas film. Occasionally straining believability, as you wonder why the central characters stay with each other and how they manage to engage in so much madcap misadventure more or less unscathed. But it's nothing unusual of a film in this genre and I was very willing to go along with it.

There is also a degree of insufferable behaviour from the main character as he pushes through with sheer force of will. But this is also key the the character himself and his own struggles. In fact I found him quite realistic to people I have have met in real life, just perhaps slightly exaggerated.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable experience and well worth a watch when winter comes round.

I think this movie broke my brain. I was so confused about how I felt about it. I loved parts of it, and hated other parts of it. Even now, the next day, I can't really get my head around exactly where I'm at with it.

The movie has charm. Not crazy 'Ferris Bueller' levels of charm, but more than enough to carry almost every scene through. That's where the film shines.

Where it didn't shine for me was the questionable morality. It's so casual and blasé about it too. The movie doesn't seem to think that you should think any less of the character because of it.

I'll do some more digesting on this film, but ultimately I think it finds itself neatly in the middle of the road. 6/10.

Maybe, I'm part of that target audience that really enjoys odd romantic pairings that happen on the go. But Baltimore does look vibrant and beautiful on Christmas, given how much of a supporting character it is in the overall scheme of things. The film touches upon some important topics, while sprinkling sufficient verbal (and potentially improvised) humour on top. I don't recall having watched anything with these leads -- Michael Strassner and Liz Larsen -- before. So, their chemistry, their performances all felt fresh and fun. Jordan Seigel's piano-driven score plays all the X'mas favorites in the background, without so much as driving the point home. The soundtrack's almost like we're in a nice, chic hotel with a pianist playing these festive hits for the patrons. Olivia Luccardi is the only face that I'm familiar with, and she gets a really poignant scene towards the end.

Why The Baltimorons works is not because it's outrageously funny or it has adorable leads, but the way director Jay Duplass chooses to tell this 24-hour story. Strassner, being from Baltimore, probably factored a lot into the writing of the screenplay. These characters are flawed, and I like that they don't conceal their vulnerabilities for some big, twisted reveal. Most of it is unwrapped over casual conversation, and I (for the millionth time) acknowledge why it feels "safe" to be candid with strangers you've just met. It's just the way the world functions, at least for some of us (weirdos), where the best moments occur without plans, expectations, or filters.

P. S. This might make for a great double bill with The Holdovers.