AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN: Has A Unique Voice, But A Weak Ending

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is a wonderful example of a film that is able to be surreal, comic, and emotional without having to switch off between the three. The film follows Lulu, a woman in an unhappy marriage with her boss at a diner, as she leaves home with the man who attempted to rob her husband but who has now decided to be her loyal bodyguard. Together, they wait in a small, dumpy hotel for a performance by Beverly Luff Linn who was believed to be dead and now only communicates by grunts. The film is as odd as it sounds, but is a true comedic feat despite an ending that leaves much to be desired.

A Clear Voice Among Clear Voices

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn stars four actors (Aubrey Plaza, Craig Robinson, Jemaine Clement, and Matt Berry) of incredible comic ability with experience under their belts. All four have created recognizable television characters and developed beloved comedic personas. I was worried that this film might simply rest on the past fictional personalities of these four actors and just rehash the filmmakers’ favorite parts of Parks and Recreation and Flight of the Conchords. Instead, this film does the herculean task of placing each of these clear voices in a role that is different from past personas, but still fits like a glove.

The often stony Plaza and Clement are given a broad range of strong emotions that draw them out of deadpan while still leaving their coy charms. Inversely, Robinson and Berry are allotted their moments of jubilant oddity, but with a quiet and control they often flaunt in their other work. As a sum total, the film is able to bring together disparate voices while still playing into their strengths. What these four actors still have is a less naturalistic style that melts into the surrealism of the film and really makes the most of the movie’s many jokes.

This is perhaps most impressive in the cases of Jemaine Clement and Matt Berry who have both created their own television shows that feature their stylized personas (Flight of the Conchords for Jemaine Clement and Toast of London for Matt Berry). The personas these men take on in their shows are starkly different, with Clement being deadpan to the point of heavy sedation and Berry being so theatrical and over-engaged as to require a dose of whatever Clement is taking. When put together here, however, they mesh perfectly. The two have a timing and rhythm together that could not be more finely tuned and an emotional dynamic that connects seamlessly.

While this speaks to the quality of the performances by these actors, it also shows a unique voice and vision. An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn also has a very distinct visual style that is able to blend well with the characters and performances.

Leaning into the artifice

While it is never stated when the film takes place, it has the aesthetic of 80’s nostalgia from someone who hates the 80’s as much as we all probably should. The interiors and costuming all feel connected to the decade, but none will make you miss it.

The cinematography of the film eschews the naturalistic for a more geometrical approach that forefronts cinematic artifice to great effect. This style has two major benefits to the film. One is that it allows for some truly beautiful shots in a surrealist film full of ugly remnants of a gross decade. The other is that it supports and undergirds the artifice-heavy acting from the film’s stars.

It is a true testament to the writing and acting in this film that despite the lack of naturalism, this film never feels bloodless. The film lets you care about these characters and their respective desires and losses even if you never forget you are watching a movie. Many surreal films attempt this but it is a testament to An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn that it succeeds.

A Real Honker of An Ending

This next segment has spoilers for the film. Be warned.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is about a woman who runs off to see an evening event hosted by Beverly Luff Linn. One could be forgiven for assuming that the event is going to be a real hum-dinger (or at least a high-point in the film). Most of the film is spent waiting for the evening to take place, with the event getting delayed and delayed and there really not being much else to do other than wait.

Waiting and withholding information are much of the drama in the film. The questions as to who Beverly Luff Linn is and what this evening will entail are dangled, but without much development or change. At a certain point, you get tired of asking the same questions and the film starts to feel flat and repetitive. We don’t find out who Beverly Luff Linn is until an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie and he does not speak until there are only twenty minutes left. Both of these events should have happened way sooner.

At the end of the film, however, you understand why there was so much waiting. The titular evening was boring and no-good. I also wanted it to be on screen for a very short amount of time. Beverly Luff Linn turns out to be a poet with whom Plaza’s Lulu has a romantic history. The evening is a collection of his songs. This is not very exciting.

The songs themselves are also letdowns. They are purposely similar to folk or drinking songs, but no funnier. It doesn’t feel as if the writers tried to make funny songs and failed but instead they got a book of folk songs from the library and dog eared some that they were positive were in the public domain. This only adds to the anticlimactic let down.

For a film whose plot centered around the buildup for the finale, that finale being a stinker taints everything before. This buildup is so jam packed with jokes, beautiful shots, and some real buck-wild moments that the waiting is a joy to watch, but the whole plot of the film needs some work.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn: Conclusion

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is an incredibly funny film. It is so stuffed with jokes that there are even solid jokes in the background of other jokes. What’s more, the film develops a style that both feels original and works well with the surrealist nature of the acting and writing. It really is a very fun film even if the ending is really very, very bad.

What is your favorite film that you love despite its ending? Let me know in the comments below!

An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn opens in the USA on October 19, 2018 and in the UK on October 23, 2018. For all international release dates, see here.