TICKET TO PARADISE // A FILM REVIEW OF "WALTER"
Let's get this out of the way from the top: WALTER is a strange and odd film. The title character (played by Andrew J. West) is an odd duck. He works at a local movie theatre in Indiana tearing tickets and spends a good portion of the day staring at his crush Kendall (Levin Rambin) and taking flak from the smart ass, overcompensating coworker Vince (Milo Ventimiglia). His manager Corey (Jim Gaffigan) mostly looks past all of his idiosyncrasies and lets him just exist in his own strange world. He lives at home with his mother (an under used Virginia Madsen) and one day a Ghost named Greg in the form of Justin Kirk appears before him confessing that he's stuck in some sort of purgatory limbo and needs his help to head into the afterlife, heaven or hell he doesn't care. He just needs to move on. Oh, did I mention that Walter believes he's the son of God (no, not that one. He's another guy. With a beard) and decides the fate of every living person by judging them to Heaven or Hell? Like I said, this is a strange and odd film. Whimsical and bizarre. And that's exactly why I like it.
The problem with judging Greg to Heaven or Hell is that he's a Ghost and Walter can't read him like he can living people. Greg wants to move on before he has to witness his wife (Neve Campbell) remarrying and moving on with her life. This stresses out an already stressed out Walter so he begins to see a Psychiatrist (William H. Macy) who gives him pretty terrible advice and tells him that he's crazy. Hey, nobody said he was a good shrink (but he did win first place in a pie eating contest). The scenes between the two crackle and spark and Macy is hilarious in a loopy, eccentric way. Walter is also haunted by the memories and pain of his late father (Peter Facinelli) who brought the love of movies to his son. How this all weaves together is the central mystery of Walter's story, and his key to being able to move on.
Director Anna Mastro crafts very carefully the strange and weird world of Walter and lets you laugh at and with them, sympathizing for this strange cast of characters. At times it tries a bit too hard, but more often than not, its strange world intoxicated me. I could have used Walter to have a bit more of a character trait other than weird, but West does a good job bringing you into his world, and the supporting cast of Macy, Rambin, Ventimiglia, Gaffigan and especially a heartfelt and sweet performance by Kirk will keep you smiling until the end. The tender, sweet third act is definitely worth the trip. If you can swallow this original and strange concept (wearing its heart on its sleeve) and not overthink the journey, Walter will win you over.
MATEO'S GRADE: B+
Written by Paul Shoulberg Directed by Anna Mastro Starring Andrew J. West, Justin Kirk, Levin Rambin, Milo Ventimiglia, William H. Macy, Jim Gaffigan, Virginia Madsen, Peter Facinelli, Neve Campbell.
Now in select theatres and On Demand.
MATEO MORENO recently won a bet on who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won the bet, having beat local loudmouth Jimmy "Thunderbird" Thomas with a record breaking "fourteen minutes." True, part of that time was him unconcious and the other part was him being revived, but he still counts it, and is now $20 richer. Take THAT Thunderbird! He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.