The new flick, “Nobody” has a familiar action-movie plot. But it features an unconventional leading man. Rick Brough explains, for this week’s Friday Film Review.
I get a kick out of stories about the “worm that turns”—especially when you find out it was a rattlesnake all along.
In the film “Nobody”, the central character, Hutch Mansell, looks like a guy stuck in the routine of a suburban drone. He slurps coffee in the morning, works at a job where he gets not all that much respect, makes lasagna for the wife and two kids on special occasions and always, always, always he’s late dragging out his trash bin to catch the garbage truck.
When two clumsy thieves break into his house, Hutch looks helpless. It’s only later that we see how coolly he sized up the situation. And we get a glimpse of a sinister tattoo on his arm. And we see him talking to a mysterious friend after hours.
Trouble is, the two thieves apparently stole his daughter’s kitty-cat bracelet. And that’s going too far! Hutch goes back on the streets, resuming his career as a “company auditor.”
You’ve seen this movie before, about the quiet guy who calls upon his “particular set of skills” when his family or friends are threatened. He’s usually played by somebody like Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington, or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Here’s the twist. Hutch is portrayed by Bob Odenkirk, known primarily as a comic actor, or as the penny-ante lawyer of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.”
Here’s the next twist. Odenkirk, looking grizzled and edgy, is a credible professional badass.
The third twist is, that doesn’t mean he’s Superman. When Hutch takes on five hooligans on a bus—just cause he feels like it—he sends them to the hospital. But they also beat the stuffings out of him.
The story was reportedly inspired by a couple of break-ins that Odenkirk suffered in real life.
The screenwriter, Derrick Kolstad, also wrote three “John Wick” movies. So cliché alert! Hutch arouses the ire of an ubermean Russian mob boss, and the movie ends with an apocalyptic gun battle.
Meanwhile, it’s fun to see Christopher Lloyd, as Hutch’s nursing-home-bound father—who also has some surprises up his sleeve.
Using my own particular set of skills, I would give “Nobody” three and a half stars out of five. For the Friday Film Review, I’m Rick Brough.
