Vengeance

Vengeance

Ben Manalowitz, a journalist and podcaster, travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thrillers
  • Stars: B. J. Novak, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Isabella Amara, J. Smith-Cameron, Lio Tipton
  • Director: B. J. Novak
 Comments
  • Mr-Topshotta - 28 March 2024
    "VENGEANCE" REVIEW
    Directed, written, and starring B. J. Novak. A runtime of one hour and forty-seven minutes. Streaming on Starz with an R rating.

    "Ben" is a writer from New York trying to find his next big thing. He's stuck in a daily routine of hooking up with random women and never committing to someone long-term. When it comes to writing, he's talented, but when it comes to anything else involving his personal life, He needs a lot of work.

    After hooking up with a random woman, he gets a random call from a man named "Ty," played by Boyd Holbrook. He proceeds to tell "Ben" that his sister, "Ben's" girlfriend, passed away. Not true "Ben" tries to tell him that couldn't be possible and that "Abilene," played by Lio Tipton, was a booty call he had sex with a couple of times. But those words never come out, instead "Ben" finds himself on a flight to Texas to attend an acquaintance's funeral.

    For some reason, "Abilene's" entire family believes she had an extensive relationship with "Ben". Her two sisters "Paris" and "Kansas City Shaw" played by Isabella Amara and Dove Cameron. Her younger brother "El Stupido," played by Eli Bickel; her mother "Sharon," played by J. Smith-Cameron; and even her grandmother, "Granny Carole," played by Louanne Stephens. Everyone believed it was something more than it was.

    Once there, "Ty" tells "Ben" that he thinks his sister was murdered. He asks for help to get revenge on whoever killed "Abilene." "Ben," thinking about the bigger opportunity, gets counsel from a colleague and future editor, "Eloise," played by Issa Rae.

    "Ben" commits to this investigation. He thinks it will make for a great podcast. This causes him to have to shack up with "Abilene" eccentric and prideful Texas family. Also, interview the people in her life before she died. Like music producer "Quentin," played by Ashton Kutcher.

    "Ben" might not find out what happened to "Abeline," but one thing is for sure: he will get some entertaining material because he truly is a fish out of water. But all of this could potentially be his next big story. Find out in this dark comedy.

    "Vengeance" was not what I expected. B. J. Novak's character experienced the same thing in the film. Speaking of "Ben," yes, he was a writer, but his being that much of a player was unrealistic. His wingman was John Mayer, John Mayer playing himself at that. Come on now.

    I thought that even with all the responsibilities B. J. had to take on, He had a wonderful cast that seemed to make his job easier. My only complaint was the beginning. It seemed like he had a hard time getting to the main plot. Realistically, if I have commitment issues and one of your hook-ups dies, The last thing I'm doing is attending the funeral. Especially somewhere as far as Texas.

    Then some parts of the script got shaky. Because "Abeline" had pictures of them both. So clearly, it was a little more than friends with benefits, but then that was later debunked. There were some holes in the story, that's all. Issa Rae did a great job with her character. I love seeing her stardom.

    Once you got into the thick of it, it was a good film. Ashton Kutcher's character loved listening to the sound of his voice. I will say that with all his talking, he dropped a lot of gems. In general, I loved the fact that a lot of gems were given in this film. I thought B. J. was extremely clever in how he did it.

    This film was entertaining, funny, intriguing, and suspenseful. The ending was predictable and a shocker all in one. I give this film four mor fires 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

    #CosmoandtheMovieWithin #CosmoMovieBlog #CosmoLanier #Vengeance.
  • daddysarm - 4 September 2023
    that Dunning-Kruger film
    Narcissistic New-Yorker preaches pablum to his / her inferiors. Where have we seen this before? How is this ever supposed to an attractive way to spend time? Then throw Kutchner's clown character on top. All the quirky characters might add up to an interesting 90 minutes, but there is a fundamental problem. BJ Novak's character is so damn unlikeable. Who cares what he thinks about these other characters?

    In addition to the Dunning-Kruger of Novak thinking he has the objectivity to understand "America" beyond the Hudson, there is the irony that most of the people rating this highly are the exact people Novak is presenting as shallow, elitist twits. They love it. Yup, that's us. Great insight. Now let us get back to being shallow, elitist twits.