Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 24, 2019

Here’s at least one test to help identify whether or not you will find An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn a “laff riot”, as some industry outlets used to call comic masterpieces: do you find the names Beverly Luff Linn, Lulu Danger and Shane Danger inherently hilarious? If so, this may well be the film you’ve been waiting for. If not, this may appeal as a more than slightly gonzo offering that features a game cast, but some pretty manic shenanigans that never really amount to much, meaning that any “laugh out loud” quotient may in fact be pretty highly variable. Fans of co-writer and director Jim Hosking’s previous effort The Greasy Strangler may already have a bit of a leg up on what to expect (and they should keep their eyes peeled during the coffee shop scenes for what may be a “cameo” of sorts way in the background), but for those unacquainted with Hosking’s intentionally askew “vision”, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn may be one of the more prominent “WTF” viewing experiences in recent memory. The film details the travails of a bored wife named, yep, Lulu Danger (Aubrey Plaza), who in the film’s opening moments is employed at a diner where she works with sadsacks Carl Ronk (Sky Elobar) and Tyrone Paris (Zachary Cherry). While it’s not disclosed until a few minutes into the film, the strutting, insanely intense manager of the place is Lulu’s martinet husband Shane (Emile Hirsch). When a corporate lackey shows up to inform Shane that he needs to fire one of his employees in a company wide belt tightening move, he chooses Lulu, for reasons which are never really explained (a recurrent feature with this film, it should be added).

In fact, the “reveal” that Shane and Lulu are a couple is just one of several moments in the film where things are just kind of plopped down with not even an attempt at making them feel organically bound to the rest of the story. Lulu, stuck at home with a television she wants desperately to upgrade, sees a commercial for a “magical evening” with one Beverly Luff Linn (Craig Robinson), something that seems to excite her interest much more than any of her interchanges with her husband. Shane, who is like a walking cartoon character, simultaneously can’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that his brother-in-law Adjay (Sam Dissanayake) has managed to squirrel more savings away than he has. When Lulu discloses that Adjay (who is supposed to be her brother, even though he’s a different ethnicity — no explanation here, either) keeps his funds in a cashbox at his store, it’s obvious what few mental gears Shane may have are kicking into high.

In one of the few sequences in the film that plays at least somewhat like some farcical elements in bigger budgeted, so-called “mainstream”, comedies, Shane and his coffee shop acolytes show up at Adjay’s place, not exactly disguised underneath wigs and sunglasses, planning to execute a robbery. And they do indeed rob Adjay, though in yet another one of the film’s unexplored corners, Adjay readily recognizes Shane but evidently declines to, you know, call the police or something. Instead, as Adjay is standing half naked at a local laundromat (explanation? — what do you think?), he’s approached by a nitwit hitman named Colin Keith Threadener (Jemaine Clement) who offers to retrieve the cashbox and bust Shane’s kneecaps, all for the reasonable price of $200. (There’s a third character in this sequence whose involvement is, yes, completely unexplained.)

When Colin shows up at chez Danger, the “thieves” are in the midst of a party, while Lulu waits out on the porch. When Colin’s reasons for being there are made clear (after an initial misunderstanding), Lulu suddenly springs into action, purloining Colin’s gun (which Colin seems only tangentially aware of how to use), and more or less taking Colin and the cashbox hostage, as she seeks to escape the confines of her marriage. The two hightail it to a weird hotel where Beverly Luff Linn is scheduled to appear. Suffice it to say, there seems to be some kind of history between Lulu and Beverly, but if you’re expecting explanations at this point, you obviously haven’t been paying attention. The lack of information is probably only exacerbated by the fact that Beverly tends to “speak” only in guttural growls and rumbly noises. Laughing yet?

Maybe I’m deluding myself, but I think I have an above average and rather eclectic sense of humor, but I have to say An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn simply didn’t make me laugh much if at all. I was willing to go along with the lunatic proclivities of the film for a little while, hoping they would ultimately provoke at least a little hilarity, but I just found the film over labored, too self involved by half, and a prime example of what I call “did no one notice what was happening during the shoot” syndrome. When a cast of this capability is assembled, and they all seem to be working way too hard to drum up some comedic energy, I tend to place the blame at the feet of the director. Hosking may well be a comedic visionary far beyond the ken of this poor limited reviewer, but even visionaries need to craft punchlines that land.

Note: While not exactly a rave, it seems that my colleague Brian Orndorf probably enjoyed An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn at least a little bit more than I did. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb once again comes up empty on technical data, but I found a couple of interesting interviews with cinematographer Nanu Segal which disclose the use of Arri Alexa XT cameras (one of the more interesting interviews can be found here for those wanting to read about some of the technical considerations of the shoot). While I didn't find any explicit data online, I'm assuming this was finished at a 2K DI. Whatever the questionable comedic dividends this film pays, from a stylistic standpoint it's often quite interesting, with gauzy close-ups of Lulu still offering surprising amount of fine detail in things like the series of plush cashmere sweaters she wears. The film's palette often skews toward brown, especially in some of the hotel scenes, but there are appealing pops of very vivid hues throughout many major sequences. The film employs a lot of midrange and close-up shots, all of which tend to support consistently commendable detail levels, even in some dimly lit moments.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one which provides some subtle surround activity, especially with regard to ambient environmental sounds and some of the disjunctive score choices. Much of the film plays out in smaller scale dialogue scenes, like a sequence with Lulu and Colin in a spa pool where Beverly suddenly appears, where most activity is front and center but occasional trickles of effects dot the surrounds. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation, and there are no problems of any kind to report.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements offered on this disc, which may be a giveaway itself: this is exactly the sort of film that screams out for a self congratulatory EPK with the cast and crew effusing about each other.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn seems to want to be a kind of bizarre mashup of the sensibilities of the Coen Brothers with the Farrelly Brothers, and as such it is obviously not going to be everyone's cup of whatever they serve in the Danger coffee shop. Fans of the cast may well want to check this out, but even they should approach this offering with limited expectations. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase.