If there are a few reasons why Schroeder’s “Man in the Chair” will be remembered it’s for the competent performances from Michael Angarano and Christopher Plummer. Angarano who is sadly pigeonholed as a Disney actor gives a rather good performance as the troubled yet ambitious young ward to a dysfunctional parental base who finds himself in trouble for weird and often absurd reasons. One instance involves his character Cameron being busted for stealing a car that looks like the car from “Christine.” Angarano holds his own against the likes of M. Emmit Walsh and Christopher Plummer, and he’s a bright spot in Schroeder’s drama. Christopher Plummer on the other hand, doesn’t fail to impress. Plummer gives an outstanding performance as a grizzled wasted old man who seeks nothing out of life but to be tolerated, and acts like a goon whenever he pleases. Surely enough though, he’s a lost film icon who character Cameron takes great interest in as soon as he learns of his past. Plummer transforms himself into this tragic man embodying mannerisms of a decrepit dinosaur of the past, and growling at everyone with great conviction. Plummer’s accent is rarely heard beneath his grumbles and shouts, and he commands this film to pure entertainment. Plummer grabs all the best scenes, to boot, and surely enough makes this a great notch on his resume. If you have to see this film for one reason, see it for Plummer.

Schroeder has no idea what the hell story he’s trying to tell, and “Man in the Chair” is such an obvious mess of a tale that I was never sure what I’d seen. What is this all supposed to be? Is it about the film industry? Is it about the creative process? About movie lovers? Is it a commentary about America, or just a PSA about the abuse and neglect of the elderly? Neither and then all of the above. Schroeder tackles so many sub-plots and meandering threads that “Man in the Chair” ends up a mixed bag of some treats with so many duds at hand. When Schroeder isn’t trying his best to display cinema verite moments with edgy moments of camera work, he can manage to tell a story that really is never sure what to do with itself. “Man in the Chair” is such an uneven and ill-written film that I felt like I was being pulled in all sorts of directions as the story went along. Just when I’m watching a new version of “Scent of a Woman,” we’re suddenly thrust into a statement about the creative process and how old artists never die, and then we’re told about the harsh reality of the elderly in our country, when really I just wanted to see what the plot on the website explained.

What about the film competition? What about making the movie? What service did the folks at the home serve if Cameron made a documentary? “Man in the Chair” pretends to be a take on “Tuesdays with Maury,” when really it’s just a sanctimonious finger wagging film about the elderly and how the American health system lets them slip through the cracks. When the film does actually manage to grasp on to great dialogue and characterization, Schroeder attempts to sidestep it in favor of more finger wagging at the audience as if it were all an after school special. Take for example a scene of Flash remembering his confrontation with Orson Welles. Here is a scene with potential which is ruined by a painfully over the top performance by Jodi Ashworth. Somewhere beneath the commentary and preaching, there’s a great tale about movie making and legends being revived for one last hurrah, but Schroeder hardly ever touches on it, and “Man in the Chair” is left as a sub-par melodrama never sure what it’s trying to tell us, in the end.

 I really wanted to love “Man in the Chair,” but it’s sadly just a series of trite morals, sub-plots, and PSA’s overlapping a potentially great story about filmmaking. In spite of it though, Christopher Plummer and Michael Angarano pull in great respective performances.

[   Link to Us   |   FAQ   |   Top^   ]
All written reviews material and content are a copyright of Felix Vasquez Jr. and Cinema Crazed.
Content borrowed without written permission will not be permitted.

¤ ¤ ¤