I'll Take You There (1999)

If you can get past its bland title and awful poster, I'll Take You There becomes a pretty enjoyable offbeat romantic comedy. Written and directed by the wonderful Adrienne Shelly (best known for Waitress, I'd imagine, though she was tragically killed before it was even released), the film focuses on real estate agent Bill (Reg Rogers), who's spent months moping around after his wife Rose (Lara Harris) left him for one of his friends. His mothering sister (Adrienne Shelly) sets him up with her old college roommate Bernice (Ally Sheedy), whose incessant chatter only heightens his depression and general avoidant tendencies. He openly calls her boring, manufactured, and pathetic, causing her to spiral into a strange multi-day identity crisis.

When Bill decides to visit Rose (who dumped him over the phone) and her new beau, Bernice lends him her car and then, after robbing a clothing store, forces him at gunpoint to take her with him, wishing to see her sick grandmother along the way. It's clear that she's going through some sort of mental breakdown, but Bill goes along with it to avoid getting shot. They bicker for most of the ride but eventually both begin to let down their barriers and become more acquainted, and soon Bill is rethinking his fairly diabolical plan for his ex-wife and ex-friend.

While the story is generally pretty predictable, it is told very well and sports a few surprises, including an unexpectedly intense ending. During the first half there are lot of short flashback scenes of Bill and Rose, usually provoked by some item or action he notices in the present. Watching him re-live moments of his relationship makes him a more sympathetic character, instead of just a whiny, unthinking jerk. Most of the characters are fun and idiosyncratic, but not in that "quirky for the sake of it" kind of way. Shelly lets us get to know these characters and makes them real despite their strange behavior.

I enjoyed Ally Sheedy and Reg Rogers the more the movie progressed. Sheedy gives a very blunt but likable performance, and I love how average she looks with her un-made-up face and unflattering hairstyle. She oscillates between different moods but doesn't become an uneven caricature. Rogers looks sort of like a dumpy Adrien Brody with his pouty expression and dark features, and does the "shell-of-his-former-self" act very well, allowing us brief glimpses into what Bill used to be like. The relationship between their characters is similar to that of Andrew Largeman and Sam in Garden State, but doesn't make the woman out to be a savior and doesn't semi-glorify the "man with tragic past" personality.

I'll Take You There is funny and well-written, and while it got off to a so-so start, it gets better as the story moves along and becomes an interesting romance. I didn't like it as much as Waitress or Sudden Manhattan, Shelly's other writer/directorial features, but it's still quite enjoyable. Also, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance from Michael Emerson (Benjamin Linus in Lost), which I found exciting.

3.5/5