Vengeance Movie Review

Vengeance (2022)

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Written by: B.J. Novak
Directed by: B.J. Novak
Starring: B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Lio Tipton, Ashton Kutcher, J. Smith-Cameron, Issa Rae, John Mayer
Rated: R
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Plot
A writer from New York City attempts to solve the murder of a girl he hooked up with and travels down south to investigate the circumstances of her death and discover what happened.

Verdict
It's a movie that seems like it's cashing in on the podcast craze a few years late, but this isn't about podcasting. You could remove that aspect completely and have nearly the same movie. It's about a mystery, and this has fun with a New Yorker in Texas. The last act changes tone, abandoning the comedy for an uncharacteristically serious conclusion. A strong ending could lift the rest of this. The ending isn't bad it just doesn't mesh with the rest of the movie, instead just ending the story. The movie has been self reflection posing as a mystery and the ending drops that.
It depends.

Review
This opens with a few different conversations while Ben (B.J. Novak) is at a party. Ben is a journalist that wants to be a voice. It's a hollow platitude, and his plan is to be a podcaster. That seems like a step down from the New York Times as Ben hopes to draw a lottery ticket and get famous. Surprisingly an ex-fling Abi passing away provides the springboard for Ben's aspirations.

Abi's family overestimates how close Ben and Abi were. He didn't even remember her name when he first got the call from her brother Ty (Boyd Holbrook). Holbrook does a great job of chewing the scenery while Ben is stuck in an uncomfortable situation but is going along to make a podcast. He's in Texas, and he does not fit in.

Boyd Holbrook, B.J. Novak play Ty Shaw, Ben Manalowitz

Ty claims Abi was killed. While Ben is out of his comfort zone he agrees to the search because it feeds his ego and the podcast he wants to create. Ben tries to thread the needle with the family on how he and in turn they feel about the town. Whenever Ben tries to say what he thinks is right it invariably backfires.

Ben is creating a story about this place and learning about the people. Ty and his friend talking about the murder sounds crazy which is perfect for the podcast. This is also a family that calls the youngest kid "El Stupido", but let Ben know "it's okay, he doesn't speak Spanish." There's a socioeconomic divide with Ben in Texas that's evident with the family's fervor for Whataburger and record producer Quentin Sellers (Ashton Kutcher) making dreams come true since 2018.

Ben's producer provides exposition, letting us know this story is more about Ben than the murder. Ben does make progress with the case, the body having been found in an area where the cops, sheriffs, highway patrol, and border patrol all put the case on the other.

Ashton Kutcher plays Quentin Sellers

We see Ben starting to care about this family and they care about him. Just as everyone is bonding it falls apart. Everyone learns uncomfortable truths and Ben, with some help, pieces together what happened to Abi. The end takes a turn I didn't expect. If this is vengeance for Abi, this is a person Ben didn't know and a family he just alienated. If this is Ben's retort to how Texas has treated him that seems extreme. This is a movie that has a layer of comedy through almost every scene until we get to the end. The conclusion doesn't match the rest of the movie.