NIGHTSTREAM 2020: Dinner In America
NIGHTSTREAMTwo social outcasts go on the run together and end up finding themselves, as well as each other, in middle America. If it sounds cliched, that’s because it is. But writer-director, Adam Rehmeier manages to make it something more with a deft blend of humour, nuanced characters and earnestness in his remarkably confident ode to misfits, Dinner in America.
The first of the outcasts is punk rocker, Simon who goes by another stage name. Played by an assured and scenery-stealing Kyle Gallner, Simon tells it how it is and won’t put up with anybody else’s shenanigans. He’s brash, quick to anger and knows what he wants. Oh, and he has a penchant for playing with fire.
Simon’s spirit infuses and informs the film’s rebellious, punk attitude. Rehmeier pulls no punches when it comes to scathing critiques of American suburbia. He paints a darkly comic portrait of dilapidated families, mostly through numerous family meals, in other words, the titular event. The humour in these scenes hits the nail on the head, particularly one dinner when Simon fibs his way into a place where he can sleep for the night with a story about his missionary parents who volunteered in Tanzania. The parents’ (Pat Healy and Mary Lynn Rajskub) reactions to their insolent kid (Griffin Gluck) are priceless: ‘Take it down a notch, Kev,’ ‘You’re on thin ice,’ ‘Zip it, mister.’
The other outcast is Patty (Emily Skeggs), a naive 20-year-old still living with her parents and working at a pet store. She just so happens to also be a huge fan of Simon’s band (of course, she doesn’t know it’s him when they meet). Skeggs brings just the right level of sweet vulnerability to the role and knows when to turn on the heat. Her chemistry with Gallner is the driving force of the film.
The primary reason the characters work so well is that they are treated with honesty and given real human emotions. Simon is very suave at times, but he also does some objectionable things from time to time and struggles with reigning his anger in. Patty, while often oblivious to her surroundings, is never too awkward to be believable. They react reasonably to the situations they find themselves in, and out of their misadventures comes natural humour. The jokes are born out of the actions of the characters, rather than the characters being beholden to the jokes.
Occasionally, Dinner in America does feel like it’s trying a bit too hard to be quirky and edgy, but those moments are few and far between. The overall arc of Simon and Patty’s relationship is rather predictable, despite a few twists thrown in every now and then. But the story’s heart and humour ultimately win the day, and Dinner in America is a legitimately funny and emotional film.
