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The acerbic comedy "Wilson" arrives amid news that its star, Woody Harrelson, has given up his long-standing marijuana habit.
I have a suggestion for what Harrelson can do with the pot he's no longer smoking: Distribute it to the theaters playing "Wilson" and feed it into the air-conditioning system. That may be the only way to generate the uproarious laughter this dark, disjointed movie thinks it's producing.
Harrelson plays the title character, created in a graphic novel by "Ghost World" writer Daniel Clowes (who wrote the screenplay). He's a lonely misanthrope in Minnesota who talks openly, often to complete strangers, about the complete pointlessness of life. His one companion is his perky terrier, Pepper.
After a couple of failed attempts at dating, Wilson decides to look up his ex-wife, Pippi (Laura Dern), who at last report was a crack whore on the West Coast. He finds her, cleaned up but barely hanging on, waiting tables at a lakeside resort. Their unsteady reunion lands them in bed together, where Pippi lets slip a secret she never told Wilson: She had a baby girl 17 years ago and put her up for adoption.
Wilson hires a private detective and finds the girl, Claire (Isabella Amara), an overweight and bullied high schooler with few friends. Soon, he has swept up Pippi and Claire in a half-crazed attempt to form some instant family memories.
Director Craig Johnson mined similar dysfunctional-family dynamics for laughs in his 2014 breakout, "The Skeleton Twins." Here, though, he is trapped — and has trapped all of us — with a singularly unlikable character whose gleeful abrasiveness sucks the life out of everyone. That includes the reliably sunny Judy Greer, who shines in a small role as Wilson's dog sitter.
Harrelson, as always, throws himself enthusiastically into "Wilson," and he carries the movie further through sheer charm than most actors could. Alas, "Wilson" winds up being as unlovable and irritating as its main character.
Twitter: @moviecricket —
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'Wilson'
Woody Harrelson gives his all in playing a misanthrope in this shrill comedy.
Where • Broadway Centre Cinemas.
When • Opens Friday, March 24.
Rating • R for language throughout and some sexuality.
Running time • 94 minutes.