Best Man Down sets a solemn tone of losing old friends and gaining new ones in the beautiful yet frigid background of Minnesota. Going into the film, I was expecting a silly yet dark comedy about some irresponsible best man who parties too hard, but what I got was much different. This film tells a story of one man, Lumpy, from two very different perspectives; one being from the point of view of the newlyweds, mainly the groom who is his best friend, and the other from a struggling fifteen-year-old girl, Ramsey, who had a near death encounter with Lumpy.
The film starts out with a couple getting married, Scott and Kristin, and immediately the character of Lumpy forces his way onto the screen. Lumpy, played by actor Tyler Labine, is a presence that makes his way into your heart, but it takes some time. In the first fifteen minutes of the film, he seems like a flat character that is merely the role of the crazy, alcoholic best friend but, ironically, it is after his death in the film that I actually got to see his generous spirit and lovable, shy personality. When he collides with Ramsey Anderson, the strong, silent fifteen year old, I saw Lumpy become a true friend and it made my heart melt. The eulogy that Ramsey says at Lumpy's funeral made me cry, that's all I'm saying. Their friendship is real, pure, and it is really heartwarming to watch it develop onscreen. I wish I could have seen more of the little moments between those two characters.
The newlyweds were not as interesting for me because they didn't seem to change enough throughout the film. It was the typical storyline of each of the characters having their own personal demons to battle, and by the end of the film, they hadn't really overcome them but merely hinted at the notion. Justin Long, from popular movies such as Dodgeball and Accepted, plays the husband, and his performance is average compared to the relationship of Ramsey and Lumpy. Scott's character stumbles throughout the film to grasp his feelings about losing his best friend and in the end not actually knowing him at all. While Long played the confused, young husband well, I found his performance to be mediocre compared to Tyler Labine. He is not in the film nearly as much but his presence makes an impact.
The ending is predictable for an independent film. It ends on the note that Ramsey would stay and live with the married couple, Scott and Kristin and go to college early like Lumpy had so courageously tried to make happen before he died. It had turned out that Lumpy had a heart disease and quit his job, left law school because he wanted to spend his last months doing things he loved and just being happy. Scott becomes upset that Lumpy never told him about the heart condition, which I believe, signifies one of the messages of the film: sometimes we don't know the people closest to us as well as we think we do.
The very end of the movie abruptly fades to black as Ramsey and the married couple are leaving their apartment, leaving the audience with a sense of anything being possible for Ramsey and a feeling of comfort for the couple having Ramsey in their life now. I would have liked to see an end that was six months later or even a year showing what Ramsey was up to in the future. I wanted to see her finally away from her family and happy, all because of Lumpy. Best Man Down may not be the film for everyone, but it does have its moments of sincerity and Tyler Labine's performance as Lumpy is not to be missed.
