Most directors admit that if they cast a movie well, at least half of their job is done. The
Answer Man marks the directorial debut of screenwriter John Hindman, and I think he scored a bull's-eye when he chose Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, and Lou Taylor Pucci to play the leading roles in this likable comedy. Daniels perfectly embodies the character of Arlen Faber who, twenty years ago, wrote a sensational best-selling book called Me and God relating his conversations with the Creator.
Nowadays, Faber lives as a recluse in his Philadelphia townhouse, shunning contact with people and reverting to sarcasm whenever he's forced to have a conversation—as, for instance, with his letter carrier. A need to rid his house of books inspires a trip to a local used-book store run by Pucciwho's got serious problems of his own— while a severe back problem sends him crawling to storefront chiropractor Graham.
The Answer Man was screened this year at Sundance (under the title Arlen Faber) and I can understand why it wasn't well received in that setting: it isn't dark or edgy enough. In fact, serious undertones run throughout the picture but they are masked by sharp, funny dialogue and broad supporting characters. At a time when so many Hollywood comedies struggle to stretch a tiny premise to feature length, this film seems fully realized, even if it is on a modest scale.
Most of all, I enjoyed this movie because I like the characters and the people who play them. Daniels can do just about anything—I feel lucky to have seen his great performance on Broadway this season in God of Carnage—while Graham, of Gilmore Girls fame, is one of the most appealing actresses working today, a superb comedienne who never loses touch with reality. Pucci, whom I first noticed in Thumbsucker, is a real talent who strikes a poignant note as a broken young man in need of salvation—yet he never loses sight of the film's overarching comic tone.
The Answer Man may not be a great movie, and its small-scale, indie feel almost guarantees that it won't be a box-office smash, but I found it thoroughly satisfying.