In Judy Greer’s directorial debut, A Happening of Monumental Proportions, we are given a star-studded cast of well known and loved actors.

Unfortunately, the film does them no favors as its flat script, written by Gary Lundy in his first feature credit, has tone-deaf, problematic jokes paired with an underdeveloped story arc. Greer does a phenomenal job giving life to dramatic moments by honing in on the real emotion and pushing it forward, but by trying to combine the film’s edgy humor with touching, sentimental character development, A Happening of Monumental Proportions ultimately falls flat on both accounts.

Our touchstone throughout the movie is Daniel (Common), a widowed father trying to be the best parent he can for his daughter Patricia (Storm Reid) by remembering to show up to her school’s Career Day. During his morning commute, he is confronted with a phone call from the husband of his assistant, Nadine (Jennifer Garner), with whom he’s been having an affair. He wants to meet for lunch so that he can compare Daniel to himself, and maybe kick his ass. His day continues to spiral when Daniel arrives to work the kitchen is taped off due to someone cutting the cord to the coffee machine, and Daniel finds himself the scapegoat as his ex-lover has wrongfully accused him of the crime. Plus, he gets fired by his new, rigid boss, Mr. Arthur Schneedy (Bradley Whitford).

Chaos continues to follow all the characters in this film. At Patricia’s school, Principal Nickels (Allison Janney) finds the corpse of the school gardener first thing in the morning. With the help of her Vice Principal, Mr. Ned Pendlehorn (Rob Riggle), they carry the body to the teacher’s lounge. The stress from Career Day has them in a frenzy and they just want to hide the body so word does not get out. Christian McRow (Anders Holm), the music teacher, is morose after he lost his chance at a record label and his girlfriend broke up with him once and for all. Our last tortured soul is a new student, Darius (Marcus Eckert), who is constantly plagued with loneliness as he continues to move around due to his father’s job. After being harassed by the school bully, Rufus (Michael Berthold), Darius is shown kindness by Patricia as she helps him up and, cue the sappy love song like the movie does, he has a “meet cute” and falls in love instantaneously. A defeated Daniel shows up in the nick of time for Career Day only to realize that the man who just fired him, Mr. Schneedy, is also a parent in this class. Tempers flare and the two men sling insults at one another during their Career Day presentations, which leads to a literal “let’s take it outside” fist fight which is lackluster, uninspiring, and robbed of potential humor.

Though the part is small, [Kumail] Nanjiani does an excellent job taking the material and finding moments where he can insert more subtle comedy that reads better for the mood of the scene.

Multiple times in the film, jokes do not land and can be quite offensive to the modern day audience member. There is a running gag about Kevin, the corpse, being a Mexican gardener even though he has a name that is perceived as Caucasian. Mr. Pendlehorn cannot comprehend how he could be named Kevin and even slips by saying that it’s, “..not a traditional Mexi-” before receiving eye piercing glares from his scene mates, and the viewers having to witness this travesty. When a teacher calls the company that contracts him to see who he is to inform his family of his passing, they learn there are actually four Kevins, and Mr. Pendlehorn is floored. The insensitivity does not just stop at Pendlehorn, as we see it when we meet Bob (Keanu Reeves), Nadine’s husband. During his confrontation with Daniel, Bob takes him to the bathroom to compare their manhood and gives Daniel an “Indian burn” on his arm. When asked by Daniel if he was just given one, he replies with an unfounded sense of confidence, “Apache-style!” This tone-deaf joke took away from the success of scenes where the humor and heart were just right.

The most amusing scene is with Daniel and the HR employee (Kumail Nanjiani) during his exit interview. Though the part is small, Nanjiani does an excellent job taking the material and finding moments where he can insert more subtle comedy that reads better for the mood of the scene. He becomes a soundboard for Daniel to unload all his worries, troubles, and fears on and Nanjiani does a great job of being an HR employee who cares but wants to follow protocol. While they are saying their goodbyes, the HR employee gives Daniel his card and with a cheesy on purpose, yet genuine smile says, “I may not be a registered therapist, but I am a registered friend.” The dry delivery paired with Nanjiani’s effortless comedic timing made this scene one that stood out amongst the rest.

The most touching scene is between new student Darius and music teacher Christian. They both find their way to the roof of the school after having spent the majority of the day trying to connect with someone and find a place where they can just breathe. Christian is dealing with an existential crisis as he realizes that his dream of being a musician will never be. Darius has found that loneliness plagues his life and that the constant moving and identity of being “The New Kid” means that he can never truly connect with anyone and has no place to call home. We are given exceptional performances by both Holm and Eckert as they show us how two seemingly different men, one a 6th-grade student and the other a music teacher, can be the friend and confidant they had been searching for.

While the cast seems to have had fun working together and enjoyed the process, A Happening of Monumental Proportions has largely surface material that does not make it easy for the viewer to connect with the characters, nor something to buy into so that an emotional investment can occur. The script dips its toe into both comedic and dramatic ponds but never commits to a fully realized concept. The ending echoes this noncommittal tendency as it just fades out without any true resolution for our main characters and unfortunately, leaves the viewer with a feeling of confusion and disappointment.

81 minutes. ‘A Happening of Monumental Proportions’ is rated R for sexual content and language. Opens Friday, September 21st at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theater, Laemmle’s Monica Film Center, and Edwards Westpark 8.