Roper is a filmmaker devoting more time to his failures than to his frustrated girlfriend. Andy whittles away his inheritance playing golf and smoking pot. Jeff traded his dramatic aspirations for a comfy gig in commercials. They have stalled out on the way to midlife, and now drift along, rudderless and angry. Intersperse their stories with glimpses of relationships in crisis, footage from Roper’s documentary on bluesmen, and recurring episodes in which Roper yells at reckless drivers and you have one ambitious, although uneven, narrative.
Parnes apparently based these characters on people he knew in L.A. — and not surprisingly, I find them hard to sympathize with. But writer-director (and star) Parnes seems to be getting at something here — something about men not being able to communicate through anything but music and sports, and about women and children as anchors, and about following your dreams — but these themes are fuzzy and indistinct. Some moments (especially toward the film’s end) resonate nicely, but they are diluted by struggles and dialogue that seem informed more by sitcoms than real life.
A MAN IS MOSTLY WATER
D: Fred Parnes; with Parnes, Mark Curry, Michele Harris, Bill Pullman. (35mm, 105 min.)
Fri., Oct 13, 9:45pm, Arbor
Tue., Oct 17, 9:20pm, Paramount
This article appears in October 13 • 2000.