Like many people I have had someone close to me commit suicide. It was difficult for me to understand why they did it, as well as wonder if I could have done anything to prevent it. For a time it left me bitter and jaded while reducing suicide to a subject that was bound to aggravate me. But as the years have passed my attitude and feelings towards it have changed. But in spite of this suicide is still one of those subjects that are nigh impossible to joke about, especially in movies. The only ones I can think of that it have pulled it off with any grace are Better Off Dead, Heathers, and Groundhog Day. So it was with trepidation that I went to see the suicide satire Wristcutters: A Love Story, knowing full well I could be walking into a complete disaster.

Zia (Patrick Fugit) is a very unhappy man. Having recently been dumped by his girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb), he commits suicide in the hopes it will end his pain. Upon waking he discovers he was successful in his efforts to end his life, only to find out he now resides in a world no different from his previous one. Not long after he receives word that Desiree has also committed suicide, and taking it as a sign he enlists his roommate Eugene (Shea Whigham), and an odd hitchhiker (Shannyn Sossamon) who insists she is here on accident, in helping him find the love of his after life.

Adapted from the Etgar Keret short story Kneller’s Happy Campers, Wristcutters: A Love Story suffers from the most common ailment plaguing short works that are expanded to feature length material: filler. What would make an outstanding short film is stretched beyond its breaking point by including numerous throw away scenes that only hamper the plot leaving the film to stagger towards the 90 minute mark a stereotypical romantic comedy mess. By the time the credits roll the film is blatant in its need for you to like it, and considering the subject matter, perhaps shouldn’t have been so surprising.

Now that might give you the impression that there is little value in watching Wristcutters: A Love Story and that is hardly the case. With its simple and richly ironic premise Wristcutters: A Love Story is a surprisingly fresh take on suicide. Rather than being doomed to eternal damnation these people are stuck living a remarkably similar life to their previous one, only now no one can smile, making life just a bit more difficult to wade through. But since everyone has already seen the ineffective results of suicide, they are practically forced to relive a life that previously made them miserable, in effect granting them a transcendental do over to fix their troubled and disappointing lives. And while at first glance your outlook on such a fate may be as dour as many of the characters are, this is not a world without hope. Families are reunited, love is found, and bona fide miracles are so common they are flippantly dismissed. The surface may appear bleak, but there is surprising depth and humanity lurking below the surface.

Wristcutters: A Love Story also boasts impressive satirical bite that makes for some outstanding and often times hilarious moments throughout the film, including a Black Hole gag that gets funnier every time you witness it, kinda like The Exorcist. Along with its wry humor Wristcutters: A Love Story boasts two of the greatest celestial characters of all-time. Messiah (Will Arnett channeling G.O.B. to the glee of Arrested Development fans everywhere), a magician equal parts inept and self-absorbed, who has built a cult following his efforts to reverse his suicide and return to his former life. And the enigmatic Kneller (Tom Waits) who leads the group that opposes Messiah as their de facto Patron Saint of cool. If the Almighty is prescient enough to employ one as hip as Kneller, limbo might not be so bad after all.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 9:29 am and is filed under Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.