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If the comedy "Dean" — a one-man labor of like for its star, director and writer, Demetri Martin — were any more low-key, you'd call the EMTs to administer CPR to it.
Martin, a comedian who also has appeared in "Finding Woodstock" and "In a World …," plays the title character, a Brooklyn cartoonist and illustrator who's avoiding a lot of things in his life. He's avoiding his editor, to whom he's promised a second book. He's avoiding his ex-fiancée, Michelle (Christine Woods), even though they both have roles in the wedding of Dean's best friend, Bret ("Veep's" Reid Scott). And he's avoiding his father, Robert (Kevin Kline), which allows Dean to forestall plans to sell the family house.
The underlying cause of Dean's avoidance is his mother's death a few months earlier. It's why he broke up with Michelle. It's why Dad wants to sell the house and why Dean doesn't want to make a decision about the house. And it's why the Grim Reaper keeps showing up in Dean's drawings.
In the ultimate act of avoidance, Dean takes up an ad company's offer for a free flight to Los Angeles. He hangs out with his perpetually on-the-make college friend Eric (Rory Scoval), allowing himself to be dragged along to nightclubs where Dean never manages to emulate Eric's pickup-artist moves. However, at a party, Dean does meet Nicky (Gillian Jacobs), who recognizes his Brooklyn sincerity amid the Angeleno phoniness, and some flirtatious sparks ignite.
Back in New York, Dad plows ahead with selling the house, which happens rather quickly, thanks to an efficient and charming real-estate agent, Carol (Mary Steenburgen). Flirtatious sparks start to ignite on the East Coast.
Martin's stand-up comedy is dry and intellectual, and those qualities are infused through "Dean." That's OK for a while, especially when Dean is observing the absurdities of dating or the cultural chasm between New York and Los Angeles (though he doesn't say much that Woody Allen didn't cover in "Annie Hall" 40 years ago). But when the movie turns to serious topics, like grief and the strains placed on the father/son bond, Martin's detachment works against the movie.
Martin has written for himself a real pill of a character, a self-absorbed sad sack who answers any awkward social situation with a fib that makes things worse. That character, haircut and all, and the use of the pen-and-ink drawings make "Dean" feel like the inevitable adulthood epilogue to the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" franchise, one that's just as strained and unfunny.
"Dean" is also hampered by an oversupply of whimsy, whether in Dean's humorous drawings (created by Martin) or the cloying use of songs by obscure '60s British guitarist Pete Dello and his band Honeybus.
Despite the faults of "Dean," Martin has it in him to create smart comedy and relatable characters. His stand-up is proof of the former, and the gentle scenes with Robert and Carol show his aptitude with the latter — especially when working with pros like Kline and Steenburgen (who co-starred in the 2001 drama "Life as a House").
The problem with "Dean" is illustrated by two scenes in which Martin's character is dragging his carry-on luggage around L.A. Yes, he's literally being weighed down by his baggage. You don't need a decoder ring to figure that one out.
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'Dean'
A cartoonist detaches from his life after his mother's death in Demetri Martin's overly whimsical comedy-drama.
Where • Broadway Centre Cinemas.
When • Opens Friday, June 30.
Rating • PG-13 for language and some suggestive material.
Running time • 94 minutes.