Movie review: The Wendell Baker Story

Feels like a million pesos.

by John P. Meyer

Locally-born-and-bred AFI Star Award winners the Wilson brothers (Luke, Andrew and Owen) hosted the Dallas premiere of their feature film, The Wendell Baker Story, recently at the Inwood. The movie opens its commercial run on May 18. Having already posted photos from the red carpet event, I will now spend a few paragraphs discussing the film itself.

By no stretch of the imagination is this a great movie, but I doubt that was the target director Luke Wilson and his brothers Andrew (who co-directed) and Owen (who co-stars) were aiming for; rather, judging by the outcome, what they intended was to treat movie-goers to an enjoyable 95 minute entertainment and have them leave the theater smiling. Which is the full extent of what was achieved.

Luke essays the title role of Wendell, an ethically-challenged entrepreneur who makes a passable (and personally satisfying) living supplying fake Texas ID cards to any illegal aliens with pesos to pay for them. He and his associate Reyes (Jacob Vargas) operate out of a portable office set up in a vintage travel trailer that they park just north of the Rio Bravo, catering to the abundant wade-in customer base. Back home in Austin (which is quite a commute from the border, now that I think about it), Wendell's girlfriend Doreen (Eva Mendes) works in a government office while attempting to keep her ne'er-do-well beau out of as much trouble as she can.

Of course, there's nothing low profile about this operation, and the Texas Rangers are soon swarming all over the countryside arresting whoever they can corral while impounding both the trailer and Doreen's classic El Camino (which the Wendell Baker International crew have been using to pull it). The amiable and easy-going Wendell then gets to try out his laid-back prison inmate shtick inside the wire at Huntsville; he's soon shooting baskets from the rec yard's free-throw, and can be seen shortly thereafter employing his charm to join skinheads and bloods together into one big happy koombaya-singin' prison-yard family.

All this serves as prelude to the main story line, which centers on Wendell's parole and rehabilitation. During his incarceration, he's picked up a dog-eared copy of Conrad Hilton's Be My Guest, which inspires him to pursue a future career path in the hospitality industry; thus, after leaving prison walls behind, he signs on for a job at a retirement hotel run by a sleazy head nurse named Neil King (Owen Wilson, laying a sneering bad-boy comedy turn on us). Neil has a scam going on involving something called the "Greyhound treatment," which he doles out to selected geriatric residents who've become a bit too troublesome for him and his left-hand man McTeague (Eddie Griffin) to deal with.

It becomes Wendell's challenge to a) avoid being framed for nefarious deeds carried out by Neil and McTeague; b) return the joie de vivre to the dried-out and quietly desperate residents of Shady Grove; and c) rescue those residents previously singled out for the Greyhound treatment - which involves a quick trip north of the (TX/OK) border to the farm operated by Neil's evil mom.

Stand-out among the talented ensemble cast are Seymour Cassel (as Boyd), whose name you may or may not know but whose face you will immediately recognize; and Harry Dean Stanton (as Skip), notable from The Green Mile and dozens of other films, and lately on the small screen as Roman Grant in Big Love. Stone-faced Kris Kristofferson makes a key appearance as the reclusive and socially-dysfunctional Nasher, while Will Ferrell amuses mightily as confrontational grocery store owner (and Doreen's current boyfriend) Dave Bix.

Not much is done with the character of Doreen, who basically provides a hub for the interaction of various male characters. Her role in the final resolution of film events is pretty much a throwaway, though certainly not an unexpected or implausible one, and Eva looks dang good making the most of it.

Some of the charm of the movie (for Texans, at least) stems from the brief glimpses of Austin locales, such as the Pennybacker Bridge, the UT Tower and the downtown skyline, including the State Capital building. The scoring is predominantly outlaw country with ZZ Top overtones, contributing to the energized, down-home feel of the piece.

Bottom line: an amusing film with plausible characterizations, minimal conflict and a good heart. You could do a lot worse.

HOW GOOD IS THAT?: "I feel like a million pesos." - Wendell to Reyes.

"That's like... four bucks?" - Reyes to Wendell.

PININ' FOR THE FJORDS?: "Mexico is everything the U.S. could have been." - Wendell waxing poetic about the country he might have emigrated to, before his arrest and imprisonment.

BEST MOVIE PROP: the absolutely smokin', all-aluminum, Hughes-worthy Twin Beech.