Arkansas
An odd couple deals drugs in the Deep South in an odd film that wears its eccentricity on its
sleeve to diminishing effect.
Disorganized crime: Clark Duke, Liam Hemsworth and John Malkovich
Arkansas is not to be confused with Alaska (1996), Arizona (2018), Nebraska
(2013) or even Oklahoma! (1955). Arkansas, produced, co-written and
directed by Clark Duke, is predominantly set in the twenty-fifth state and
is adapted from the novel by John Brandon. It is the sort of jokey black comedy
in which every participant is an eccentric and/or a smartass, while the wisecracks
fly like tickertape. Unfortunately, the film’s knowing self-consciousness is
not supported by a decent plot, an inch of credibility or a pulse of narrative
momentum – let alone a decent guffaw. Duke, an actor best known for playing
Clark Green in NBC TV’s The Office, has
called on his stellar mates to beef up the box-office, and has been handed a
gem from John Malkovich as an affable, philosophical drug dealer posing as a
park ranger. The other stand-out turn is from Eden Brolin (daughter of Josh,
granddaughter of James) as Johnna, the unlikely girlfriend of Swin.
Swin (Clark
Duke himself) and Johnna meet cute in a supermarket (the Piggly Wiggly) in a
typically staged encounter. He, the chubby, unprepossessing Swin, saunters up
to the very pretty Johnna and states, “let’s get this courtship under way.” The
surprise is that she’s free, willing and agrees to a first date, on the condition
that they don’t kiss for the first five days. Well, Swin must have something –
although the audience is hardly privy to it. Swin’s constant companion is the blue-eyed,
6’3½” hunk Kyle Ribb, played by none other than Liam Hemsworth. Kyle is the
brain of this odd couple – and our narrator – who muses on the soundtrack that “organised
crime in the South is not that organised.” Swin and Kyle are paired on a job by
an anonymous drug lord and Swin, dressed like a Miami drug dealer, introduces
himself to Kyle as “something of a criminal mastermind.” Of course, he’s
nothing of the sort and when the duo’s first deal goes pear-shaped, Kyle takes
command of their operation. What happens next is dragged out over five chapters,
two of which are flashbacks.
To his
credit, Duke is not afraid to surround himself by very tall actors (Vince Vaughn
is 6’5”), to accentuate his character’s lack of stature, and manages to steer
Swin into something resembling a real human being by the story’s end. But in
spite of the explanatory voice-over, a lot of blanks are left staring out of the
screen, including key plot points. It’s possible to make a film in this
congested genre that is funny, stylish and plausible – cf. Fargo – but Arkansas is
too long-winded and contrived to gain any such traction. Duke does exhibit
promise as a director, and there are a handful of nice throwaways, but not
enough to warrant your ten dollars at the box-office. So Netflix is probably
where the film belongs.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Clark Duke, Michael
Kenneth Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Eden Brolin, Chandler Duke, John Malkovich, Vince
Vaughn, Barry Primus, Juston Street, Brad William Henke, Jeff Chase, Angela
Duke.
Dir Clark Duke, Pro Clark Duke, Patrick Hibler, Jeff Rice, Martin Sprock and Ryan
R. Johnson, Screenplay Clark Duke and
Andrew Boonkrong, from the novel by John Brandon, Ph Steven Meizler, Pro Des
Scott Enge, Ed Patrick J. Don Vito, Music Devendra Banhart and Noah
Georgeson, Songs The Flaming Lips, Costumes Ashley Heathcock, Sound Brad Whitcanack.
Hercules Film Fund/Rhea Films/Storyboard Media/Sprockfeller Pictures/Don Kee Productions/Media Finance Capital-Lionsgate.
116 mins. USA. 2020. Available on Netflix. Cert. 15.