"Dark Horse" (new Todd Solondz movie)

Lenin Skynard

I've been anticipating this one for a while as I love all of the previous movies from this director, so I watched it last night.

Here's the IMDB synopsis and a trailer:

Romance blooms between two thirty-somethings in arrested development: an avid toy collector who is the dark horse of his family and a depressed woman on the rebound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoOmXKmWtJ0

From the trailer it looks like a typical Kevin James type movie where a fat loser undergoes some kind of change for the better and gets the girl who is out of his league. If you've seen any of Solondz's other films you probably would expect it to be a bit more than that which it is.

Was very disappointed with this overall. It's dark in places but not to the level you'd come to expect given the writer/directors previous work. It also

doesn't differentiate clearly enough between what parts of the film are imagined in the central characters head and what is actually real.

.

Worth a watch but if you go in expecting another "Happiness" or "Welcome to the Dollhouse" then you'll be disappointed.

Sad Professor

I saw it in the IFI back in July. I thought it was very good. Surprisingly compassionate compared to Solondz's other films. But much like its protagonist, it's a difficult film to love.