It’s summer time; the sun is shining, the ocean is warm, and now more than ever, it is a great time to stay inside and watch some indie movies.
One that will go well with your taste for the good vibes of summer living is Kenny Riches’ quirky comedy, The Strongest Man. Starring a relatively unknown principal cast, with the exception of Lisa Banes (Gone Girl), this film takes place in prettiest side of Miami’s slums, creating a “beauty under the grime” aesthetic that pairs perfectly with the film’s anti-hero protagonist. The film is pleasing to the eye and funny bone.
Leading the charge of the film’s comedic force are Beef (Robert Lorie) and his best friend/sidekick, Conan (Paul Chamberlain). Looking at the two social misfits, one might be able to see them as an offbeat super hero duo, Beef being the self-proclaimed strong man, who is emotionally crippled by his insecurities, and Conan as his piggy-backing, bike riding, effectively mediocre sidekick, who feels he will never amount to his brother.
From misadventure to misguided spiritual misadventure, the two men display immature problem solving abilities, such as a hand drawn wanted poster of Beef’s stolen bike, which, juxtaposed with their “odd couple” appearance, leads to wonderfully and perversely dry humor. Throw in a quirky rebellious girl named Illi (Ashly Burch) trapped in a higher socio-economic class as an (im)possible love interest, and you’ve got yourself a strong set up for entertaining and interesting relationships.
It is by all standards, an indie comedy with enough philosophy and perspective on human existence to allow viewers to think about it, without disappointing them with their conclusions.
As with most well written comedic characters, the comedy is found within their motivations and the relationship to their setting. Beef and Conan’s goals in life are simple: ride bikes, find their spirit animals and escape boredom and monotony of their beach side paradise. The simplicity of these ambitions creates a contrast against the clear class divide and struggle of the world around them. However, when looking at the struggles of the individuals within the different classes, a shared arbitrary nature of interest is exposed. The wealthy fixate on their interior art décor and the poor make jokes and ride bikes. On both sides, their interests are meant to distract them from bigger issues. These issues are brought to light in Beef’s inner discussion of his anxieties.
The Strongest Man‘s comedy is endearing in and of itself, but the real pathos of the film lies within the inner turmoil and conflict within Beef. Although his sparse external dialogue tends to lack direction or real importance, in relation to his thoughts, it masks the complexity of Beef’s introspection. Kenny Riches’ writing beautifully manifests the neurotic thoughts of a quiet man, a brief look behind the curtain of internalization. It is this entrance into the cerebral exploration of film that separates this movie from other quirky un-hero comedies such as Napoleon Dynamite or Clerks. The film keeps you thinking, feeling and laughing.
The problem that many films run into when establishing such a strong set up of relationships is finding a way to wrap everything up. The Strongest Man unfortunately shares this weakness. It is difficult to say exactly what was missing from its ending, perhaps it was the Hollywood theme of love being the answer seeming to be misplaced amongst the strong nihilistic themes of chance and largely trivial nature of human desires and pursuits in the big scheme of things. As Beef states introspectively in the final scene, “I only found something after I had finally given up.” After spending the whole movie looking for his bike, his spirit animal, and some purpose, what he says carries some thoughtful weight to it. However, it is immediately whipped into cliché by stating, *SPOLIER ALERT*, that the girl is the best thing he found.
While the ending is a little cheesy, the rest of the film can carry more than enough of the slack. The Strongest Man has laughs of both high and low-brow humor and plenty of feelings to maintain a focus and connection with audiences. It is by all standards, an indie comedy with enough philosophy and perspective on human existence to allow viewers to think about it, without disappointing them with their conclusions.
The Strongest Man opens at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 this weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK20g6CNg-k
