Kent Osborne is a forty-year-old
cartoonist whose luck turns when Kate, a journalist from New York that he meets
online, decides to come stay with him for a weekend. The titular Kent is a
quirky man with a penchant for pot and a furry feline companion. These are the
kinds of characters that frequent films by Joe Swanberg, Wes Anderson, Noah
Baumbach and the like. You can tell pretty early on whether or not you're going
to like them. In fact, one of the biggest issues I had with Uncle Kent was that
it was simply too familiar. It felt reheated, repackaged in a sense.
There's a lot to like about it,
though, if you're into the whole mumblecore/naturalistic style of directing. The
low-budget flick has a soundtrack of bleeps and bloops that are impossibly
catchy. The film isn't a sprawling epic, but rather a quiet telling of a quick
weekend's events and in that way it feels rather personal. Most impressive of
all is the fact that the film is unscripted. The improvisation coupled with the
charm of the characters is very real, very natural and that's to be commended.
I can't really recommend Uncle Kent across the board because it's
not a universally appealing movie. For me, it connected only occasionally, and that is being
very kind on the subject. There's
plenty of clever dialogue and a few really funny moments, but it all leaves a
bit to be desired when the credits finally roll. If you're a fan of indie (and
I mean very indie) comedies, though, make sure to check it out.
