Chris and I saw the quirky black comedy Wristcutters: A Love Story nearly a month ago, but at least it’s not out in wide release across the country/globe just yet, so this is still pretty early, hehe.

“When there is trap/ set up for you/ in every corner of the room”.. oops, sorry. That’s what you’ll be singing during, after and way after you view Wristcutters: A Love Story. It’s the broken-record ballad that oddly retains its endearing charm even after you’ve been bombarded with its bridge a dozen times or so. “Oooh ooh ooooooh… Underground”, in a thick Russian accent, no less. Oh, a black comedy cajoling with jolly tunes and a morbid movie title? Yes, it can be done, and Wristcutters did it pretty well.

Wristcutters: A Love Story takes your basic angst-ridden twenty-something boy Zia (Patrick Fugit), ending his life over the loss of a blonde lover. He awakes after the deed to find himself in the afterlife, no Heaven nor Hell, just a shabbier version of his former life. Worse yet, his peers are all suicide victims (oxymoron?), who still shuffle about from their minimum wage jobs to cruddy bars to nagging/irking their roommates at home.

The only “positive” thing about this realm is that the dead can be reunited with everyone they knew who committed suicide. Entire families, for instance, retreat into their meager routines together, perhaps accepting a final attempt to appreciate life, ironically. When Zia finds out that the ex-girlfriend he offed himself over also offed herself, he sets out on a trek to find her with his new buddy and composer of the film’s theme song Eugene (Shea Whigham) and a random hitchhiker Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), and like any polite passengers would do in a car with a busted radio and a portable boom-box with only one demo cassette, they soon belt out the infectious tune. “Oooh ooh ooooooh… Underground!”

The laugh-spills overlap excellent pacing and editing (exaggerated sound effects meld with off-camera shots, chucklechuckle) in this simplified description of accelerated friendship/roadtrip. Unfortunately, the ha-has are short-lived, as they almost run over Tom Waits, found napping in the middle of the road. He is the leader of a miracle-producing commune (why, what else? Tom Waits is magical is he not?) and this is where Wristcutters takes a slight dip in the attention span cathedral. Zia suddenly forgets all about his goal to find blondie, to free up a little time to possibly fall in love with Mikal. Meanwhile, they discover a rival commune in the sort of near distance, run by the master of creepy-face comedy Will Arnett (Ratatouille, Blades of Glory), who holds a terrible surprise for Zia and company. Dun dun dunnnnnnn.

But no, nothing too shocking or alarming, for in this peculiar tale, everything is presented in an extremely casual tone, which is partly its appeal, partly why it works. For example, Zia’s plight is pretty predictable, but he’s so ordinary and almost naïve that you find yourself mildly supporting his decisions, relieved when he finds happiness. Also, no one really regrets their demise or complains much about their eternal punishment. I’m telling ya, we’re really skimming the surface of emotions here. One of the most intriguing characters never spoke at all: a cute mute fur-hood-kissed throat singer named Nanuk (Mikal P. Lazarev). Some of the most interesting scenes were when characters shared silent moments like when Eugene and Zia stare through gaudy amber sunglasses after an argument/separation with Mikal, almost mimicking views of warmth at the most ironic point possible.

A little strange that a movie who’s entire cast is comprised of people who killed themselves is not depressing, not deep, and merely glosses over disappointment and loss. But I mean that in the nicest way, because life, like Wristcutters: A Love Story , is not entirely dependent on the gigantic transitions, but a combination of the tiny sweet touches.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant. Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.

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