Daring “D Train” Worth the Ride

During its first weekend in release, Andrew Mogel and Jarrad
Paul’s The D Train made $447, 524 at 1,009 locations.  That breaks down to $444 per screen. This is
no surprise as the film contains no superheroes or aliens and deals with flawed
characters wrestling with genuine emotional issues. Yep, box office poison and
yet this is the sort of movie that once you see it, you’ll likely be
recommending it friends as it contains sympathetic characters, a clever script
and a thorny problem at its core that most of us can relate to at some point in
our lives. 

Dan Landsman (Jack Black) is well aware the time has passed
him by.  His glory days – which weren’t all
that glorious – are a distant memory yet that’s never stopped him from trying
to separate himself from the pack.  As
part of the planning committee for his high school class’ 20^th reunion, he takes it upon himself to try and get the group’s most famous alum,
small-time actor Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), to attend. Landsman thinks
that if he can convince him to come, not only will more people attend but, more
importantly, he’ll be seen as a hero. Concocting a bogus business trip, lying
to his wife (Kathryn Hahn) and boss (Jeffrey Tambor) in the process, he heads
to Tinsel Town to track down Lawless, who barely remembers him and hangs out
with him simply because he has nothing better to do.  They catch up quickly, paint the town red for
a couple of nights and Landsman convinces Lawless to attend the reunion…and
then something happens.

While the plot twist in question is in keeping with all
that’s progressed beforehand, there’s no question that it will leave a bad
taste in the mouth of some viewers.  Yet Landsman’s
desperation to be accepted by the model of perfection he sees Lawless to be
makes what occurs a logical extension of this desire.  When the actor does return for the reunion
and crashes at Landsman’s house, the ramifications of his actions hit home in
ways he could not have anticipated, leading him to feel even more alienated
than ever before.

Black and Marsden are both very good, each expertly putting
forth a façade of confidence and cool when called for but, more importantly,
conveying a sincere sense of regret and honesty when their characters are
forced to come to terms with the truth about themselves.  Black has shown he can hold his own in both
comedy and drama, yet Marsden has never really gotten the credit he
deserves.  There’s a bit of sadness in
his eyes that tells us a great deal about Lawless and this, as well as many
other small bits the actor brings to the role conveys the damage that lurks
between the character’s cool exterior. 
Marsden deserves complex roles such as this and here’s hoping others
come his way.

 Mogel and Paul must
be commended for this examination of the debilitating aspects of middle-age
malaise and the lengths we go to in order to find purpose in lives that have
failed to live up to our expectations. 
It’s likely the film will never find an audience at it hits too close to
home for many of us.  And yet, therein
lies its power as it dares to make us uncomfortable, forcing the viewer to shed
their own sense of denial to examine the falsehoods we embrace that keep us
afloat, and the damage they do.  The D
Train may contain no superheroes, but its sharp writing and solid acting give
it power, making this dramedy the first true sleeper of 2015.

This article appears in May 7-13, 2015.