Movie Breakdown: The D Train

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing led us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Jack Black really wants James Marsden to come to his high school reunion.  The D Train looks somewhat cringe-worthy.

The Reality:

The D Train could have been one of two things.  1) An incredibly dark comedy about a man (Jack Black) whose life is so uninspired and sad that the only way he feels he can get a much needed win is to convince a former classmate now Hollywood star (James Marsden) to return to town for their high school reunion, so he jets out to LA and gets caught up in something twisted and unexpected.  2) A super over the top comedy about a man who does whatever must be done so that he can be the hero his high school reunion committee needs.

Instead, The D Train attempts to be both of those things, and to make things worse it does so in the safest, most uninspired way possible.  For every moment I laughed or felt sad for the characters on the screen, the film provided a generic, completely forgettable moment.  It’s as though writer/director combo Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul were worried about offending people, so they just completely shied away from committing to the “incident” at the center of The D Train and tried to ride the fence between funny and edgy.  It’s pretty unfortunate, really, as the duo took what could have been a hell of a movie and it turned into something that feels like it’s afraid of itself.

You can wait for The D Train to hit VOD.

The Lesson:

Either really go for it or don’t bother.