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Plot:
What's a "Baxter?" According to Elliott Sherman's grandmother, a "Baxter" is a guy who never gets the girl. And Elliott certainly qualifies. An obsessive-compulsive accountant prone to wrong moves, El...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 26, 2008We are informed early in "The Baxter" that "the baxter" is a term for the guy in a movie who never gets the girl. This came as news to me, and I expect it will come as a shock to my friend Billy (Silver Dollar) Baxter, who always gets more or less what he wants, especially when he wants a good seat in a restaurant, which is usually harder to get than the girl.
The movie stars Michael Showalter as Elliot Sherman, who is the baxter, and has been told about baxters by his grandmother, which means baxters are entering their third generation of nobody ever having heard about them. Given the definition of a baxter, I guess that makes sense. The opening scene shows Elliot at the altar, about to marry a girl, when the man she truly loves bursts into the church and sweeps her away. That's the baxter: The guy left at the altar. I'm trying to think of the name of the baxter in "The Graduate."
Elliot, it must be said, richly deserves to be a baxter. He is a Certified Public Accountant who is engaged to a smart, hot, successful young woman named Caroline (Elizabeth Banks), who is playing well below her league. Maybe she wants to marry Elliot so she won't always be bothered by having a husband. But when her high-school honey Bradley (Justin Theroux) turns up, she forgets all her reasons for wanting to marry Elliot, if there are any.
Actually, there aren't any. It is Michael Showalter's misfortune to be releasing a movie about a boring and unlikeable nerd only two weeks after the opening of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which stars Steve Carell as a fascinating and lovable nerd. The thing you have to remember about movie nerds is that they're movie nerds; they're nerds for the convenience of the plot, but secretly fascinating. To be a good nerd in a movie, a nerd should resemble a baked potato, as I have so often heard them described by Billy (Silver Dollar) Baxter: "I've been tubbed, I've been scrubbed, I've been rubbed! I'm lovable, huggable and eatable!"
There is, luckily, a baked potato in "The Baxter." She is played by Michelle Williams, as Cecil Mills, the cute temp who is right there in Elliot's outer office and adores him and is perfect for him and is cuter than a button and almost as cute as two buttons. She glows in the movie. She glows so much, indeed, that I was waiting for her to dump Elliot, too. She's too good for a baxter.
There's also a hilarious supporting performance by Peter Dinklage, as a wedding planner named Benson Hedges. His name reminds me of the year Edy Williams introduced me to her date on Oscar night: "I'd like you to meet Dean Witter." Dinklage, who you may remember from "The Station Agent" (and if you don't, that is the next movie you should rent) plays a gay dwarf who not only steals every scene he's in, but pawns it and buys more scenes and walks off with them, too. He has a little routine with cute guys on a city sidewalk that is like a meditation on hope and lust. Benson may be a Hedges, but he will never be a baxter.
The problem with "The Baxter" is right there at the center of the movie, and maybe it is unavoidable: Showalter makes too good of a baxter. He deserves to be dumped. At some point everyone in the movie should have jilted him and gone off and started a movie of their own. If Elliot ever gets to the altar with Cecil, Benson Hedges the wedding planner should march in and sweep her away. Yes, he's gay, but maybe they could work out something. He could plan her into another wedding. -
MCT:July 12, 2008Awesome movie. I fell bad for those Baxter's out there. Cecil was a better match for Elliot. Caroline just seemed self centered. Movie was really good. Had it's funny moments. And best of all Paul Rudd was in it, I didn't even know he was in it.
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MCT:July 6, 2008The characters are annoying and above all unreaslistic. I wonder what the writers' intention was.
Use of film music could have helped. -
MCT:June 27, 2008Does for the romantic comedy what "Wet Hot American Summer" did for the summer camp movie.
You know how in romantic comedies theres always the guy standing next to the girl as her true love makes a dramatic speech and whisks her away, that poor sad sap, is what is called a Baxter.
Elliot Sherman has always lost girls in this manner, and he'a all set to get married until the viscous cycle begins anew with the return of his fiances long time old flame Bradley. Elliot then does his best to avoid falling into Baxterdom, and seeks advice from Michelle Williams, a quirky temp, which only complicates things.
The absurdity is toned down alot here from the "Wet Hot" days, but all of the actors(many from the previous film, Micheal Ian Black, Paul Rudd, etc), all give great comedic performances. The Baxter at it's heart is a parody, but it's one with a unique one with some heart, similar to recent break-up comedy success "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", but more cute this time around than crude -
MCT:June 13, 2008
I found this movie to be realistic, and fictional at the same time, but mostly realistic. The movie is funny, and has black humor, but definitely worth watching.
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MCT:April 29, 2008
Pretty bad. Michele Williams and Michael Ian Black are kind are fun to see but other than that, it's brutal and unfunny.
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MCT:April 16, 2008
This film tries way too hard to be quirky and witty. It is a pleasant watch but not the best film I have seen.
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MCT:March 7, 2008
One of those cheesy romantic comedies about the guy who falls into a relationship that doesn't work out, he meets someone new, and marries the new love of his wife. Ok, so it's not the most "original" concept for a film, but seeing Michael Showalter pull off a main character in a romantic comedy in a humorous way made this film bearable to watch. Even if you're not a fan of Showalter or any of the actors in this film, but like romantic comedies give this film a chance.
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MCT:February 19, 2008I'm a huge fan of the Stella crew, but I have to say this one is a little bit underwhelming.
The premise is really great and sets up what could be a fun and quirky romantic comedy. However, some of the writing is too "Stella-ish" and the jokes don't fit the context of the movie. And I don't know if it was an intentional theme of the movie to make everything so coincidental and cliche, obviously some of it was done deliberately, but the scene where Elliot recognizes the song from his prom and the girl says "Dance with her" is so lame. I've seen this several times and I feel embarassed to be watching it everytime that scene comes up.
Some of the writing is very good, but it's really clunky. I'm looking forward to seeing more work by Showalter, as there really are flashes of brilliance in here and I think over time he could mature exponentially as a writer and director. -
MCT:January 29, 2008
a little too romantic comedy-ish the best thing about this movie was the that michal showalter made it...giving it some good stella type humor!
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MCT:January 24, 2008
What a wonderful surprise! Loved this. Quirky (everyone is using that word to describe this - but that's because it IS) and steadily amusing through most, and down right hilarious in parts. The wedding planner (Benson Hedges) scene had me in tears of laughter. What could have been corny is saved by a lot of quirky & there's a fine line there that Michael Showalter got just right as did Michelle Williams. What's a Baxter? "It's the guy you settle for because the one you wanted got away". Can two Baxters find each other and true love? (yeah yeah I know) It doesn't matter - bet you'll enjoy it anyway - just like me. Romantic comedy the way it should be. Lovely.
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MCT:January 22, 2008
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MCT:September 1, 2007
He's the guy that you settle for, but end up leaving when your old flame swoops in from obscurity. Feel free to root for the underdog in this romantic comedy parody featuring masters of sketch comedy.
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MCT:August 31, 2007
Quirky different kind of film. Some of the characters are a little overdone but otherwise a good movie.
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MCT:July 5, 2007
a great little story about true love and life. i liked it and i think u would too. so if u ever get the chance to see this movie, take it.
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MCT:June 29, 2007
As far as I'm concerned, the creators of Wet Hot American Summer are geniuses. Many of those folks were involved with this movie as well, and thus it was decreed that I had to rent it. Some of the charm was there, but it's its own movie. It does not attempt to remake the shenanigans of Camp Firewood circa 1981, but it does poke fun at romantic comedies quite a bit, and make good use of its few true talents, particularly Michael Showalter and Elizabeth Banks (who is incredibly hot). This movie just increased my love of those two, but that on its own didn't necessarily make me love the movie itself. It had its moments, but the predictability of a rom-com formula it was poking fun at is what made it ... predictable. What a vicious cycle.
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MCT:June 10, 2007
UNDERRATED. This movie needs to be seen by every girl who likes girly movies and every boy who likes girls who like girly movies.
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MCT:June 9, 2007
Michael Showalter is my hero! This movie is great! It's a great movie to watch when you are feeling down, like you will never meet the right person, like a "baxter". There is someone for everyone out there and this movie gives you hope and laughter.
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MCT:May 4, 2007Okay, so I saw this movie in the theater at a special engagement (where I met the writer/director/star Michael Showalter of Wet Hot American Summer fame) and it has already been out on video for a while, but this movie has flown under the radar for too long. How it was completely missed by critics and the public, I will never understand. Best described as a high-concept romantic comedy, The Baxter is both a hilarious and heartfelt love story.
The premise is like any other romantic comedy - Mr. Right tries to stop a young lady from marrying Mr. Wrong - except this movie is from the perspective of Mr. Wrong (aka 'The Baxter'). Anyone familiar with Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead will understand the fun novelty of shifting perspective in a familiar story. Showalter pulls the trick off well, clearly defining the setup and theme within minutes and relying on clever editing to tell the story of his hapless character.
Showalter also shows off his comedic talents by avoiding the obvious genre cliches (don't expect any "hair gel"-type scenes). In fact, The Baxter would be PG except for one line (if you see the movie and are curious, just ask me which). This is the antithesis of the cynical love story with direction and editing reminiscent of French New Wave and early Woody Allen comedies.
I hardly know anyone who has seen this movie so if you check out The Baxter, please let me know how you liked it. And stick around for the credits because there's more to the story... -
MCT:April 7, 2007
Totally refreshing and absolutely wonderful. I loved Michele Williams in this. Everyone has known a guy like Elliot and it's so nice to get to see him come out on top.
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MCT:March 17, 2007
This movie started with so much promise, but faltered out, doing well in spurts. However, still a pretty enjoyable romantic comedy.
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MCT:January 10, 2007
Clever look at the "odd man out" of a romantic triangle. A good antidote to typical studio romantic comedies.
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MCT:October 24, 2006
A sweet, well casted connfection that knows the screwball genre well enough that movie fans will really enjoy this. Not quite as surreal or absurd as Wet Hot but it has its moments. Peter Dinklage steals the show completely (scratch that, Paul Rudd ties him). Best character names ever.
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