‘Love Again’ Review: Not Even Celine Dion Can Save This Wildly Contrived Rom-Com from Its Own SadnessĪs the story begins, Wilson settled into a crummy routine, with only his dog Pepper to keep him company. At its best, he apes the bleak mentality of Todd Solondz, whose movies often involve scenes that can shift from twisted humor to depressing observations with ease. Tackling this material was a tricky proposition, but the movie pulls off some endearing qualities thanks to director Craig Johnson, who last achieved a balance of gloomy comedy and a dark backdrop with “Skeleton Twins.” With “Wilson,” he appropriates the graphic novel’s ironic tone with a cheery soundtrack and brightly lit scenes at odds with the irascible sad sack at the center of the story. But even as the screenplay (which Clowes adapted) contains much of the source material’s pitch-black humor, it also falls short of realizing its subtle vision of an angry recluse learning to make peace with his surroundings.Ī crazy-eyed Woody Harrelson portrays Wilson, a loudmouthed, middle-aged creep, and his performance captures the character’s fundamental appeal. It’s based on the 2010 graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes, who excels at examining the lives of somber characters trapped in drab, isolating worlds. “ Wilson” is pitched somewhere between “Bad Santa” and Rick Alverson’s “The Comedy,” inhabiting a familiar strain of American movies about profoundly unlikable people.
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