In what is meant to be a quirky dive into the world of work-life balance in Los Angeles, “Serious People” just didn’t land for me. Written and co-directed by lead actor Pasqual Gutierrez, the premise is solid but so many things about the execution didn’t quite click.
The film tells the story of successful music video director Pasqual (Gutierrez), a man who is anxiously on the verge of fatherhood. In an attempt to be a better partner to his pregnant girlfriend, Pasqual hires a doppelgänger named Miguel (Ben Mullinkosson, who also co-directs) to handle his professional duties while he focuses on his relationship and home life. It’s an interesting idea story-wise, but the docu-fiction angle is forced and doesn’t do justice to a very creative premise.
The film’s low-budget vibe is pretty evident, but it also makes the movie feel a bit too much like an arthouse project that screams “Los Angeles indie film!” in all the wrong ways. It has that vibe of trying really hard to make a point about the absurdities of the entertainment industry and the pretensions of creative professionals, but it ends up feeling more like a one-joke premise stretched too thin. The whole doppelgänger dynamic is funny at first, especially because Miguel looks like Pasqual but with a polar opposite personality and behavior that has him flexing his muscles rather than using his brain. Although this adds a bit of levity, after a while it just starts to feel repetitive.
While it has some clever moments, the film struggles with pacing. Several times I found myself wondering if it was trying a little too hard to be “meta.” The characters, particularly Pasqual, don’t seem to evolve much, and the film’s attempt at deep commentary about the struggles of balancing career and family gets lost in all the awkward, offbeat humor.
Gutierrez and Mullinkosson clearly have a lot of ambition, but “Serious People” never seems to hit the right note. It’s got a cool concept, but it doesn’t dig deep enough into either the emotional weight of impending parenthood or the absurdity of the creative industry to make it really resonate.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 