{"id":1579509,"date":"2022-07-29T16:32:41","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T20:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1579509"},"modified":"2022-07-29T16:33:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T20:33:11","slug":"b-j-novaks-texas-murder-mystery-vengeance-cant-hide-blue-state-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/b-j-novaks-texas-murder-mystery-vengeance-cant-hide-blue-state-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"B.J. Novak\u2019s Texas Murder Mystery \u2018Vengeance\u2019 Can\u2019t Hide Blue State Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fb-j-novaks-texas-murder-mystery-vengeance-cant-hide-blue-state-agenda%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1579509&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>When a movie\u2019s producer, writer, director, and leading star are all the same person, one can\u2019t help but take notice. It usually means this person feels particularly passionate about the story being told \u2013 so much so that they wear multiple hats just to make sure everything is done exactly to their specifications. Actor B.J. Novak, who most audiences will know from \u201cThe Office,\u201d makes his big screen directorial debut with \u201cVengeance,\u201d a well-meaning comedy that has genuinely funny and touching moments but becomes too caught up in its messaging. This is always the risk that comes when one person has this much control. One wonders how the film\u2019s better elements may have been elevated had Novak brought in a few more creative voices to help further develop his vision. That he opted to go it alone is truly a shame, as the film features some hilarious exchanges, memorable performances, and generally good intentions, making its ultimate third act stumbles all the more disappointing.<\/p>\n<p>The story follows a self-obsessed New York writer named Ben Manalowitz (Novak) as he is trying to break into the narrative podcast field. He has a few grand ideas about America, but he needs a good story to hang them on. He then receives a call from the family of an old hook-up named Abilene Shaw (Lio Tipton), who apparently considered Ben a much bigger part of her life than he did. Abilene has died of an apparent drug overdose, and Ben flies to Texas to attend the funeral. While there, Abilene\u2019s brother, Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook), expresses his belief that she didn\u2019t die by accident; rather, he believes she was actually murdered. Ben views Ty\u2019s delusion as a clear indicator of denial, but he is intrigued, nonetheless. He decides that he will stay in Texas and record the story of Ty\u2019s search for his sister\u2019s murderer, hoping to get enough material for a solid true crime podcast. Along the way, Ben learns more about Abilene\u2019s family and their way of live, which underlines his own feelings of emptiness. Things become more complex when Ben realizes that there might actually be more to Ty\u2019s suspicions of foul play than his initial gut feelings.<\/p>\n<p>There are multiple elements to this story, which makes sense, given the investigative nature of the script. Theories are suggested, leads followed, and suspects questioned. And, throughout it all, Ben reshapes and presents the search for Abilene\u2019s killer in the kind of slick, digestible package that has become all too familiar to true crime podcast listeners. Novak handles this well, but it all leads to an ending that is both overwrought and overwritten, going on and on until the audience can\u2019t help but roll its eyes. Perhaps this, too, is Novak\u2019s way of commenting on true crime podcasts, which so often try to be trenchant and meaningful in their final moments. If this is Novak\u2019s intention, he succeeds. It doesn\u2019t necessarily make for the most compelling ending of a film, though.<\/p>\n<p>While the investigation is the driving force behind the movie, the story functions first as a fish-out-of-water story, as Ben attempts to navigate the foreign culture he is now a part of. As he gets to know more about Abilene\u2019s family, he sees them as more than just stereotypes \u2013 they\u2019re real people with real feelings and intellects. Soon, he is allowing himself to actually enjoy the local customs and cuisine, feeling closer to these people than he ever has with his own family or friends back in New York. This element of the film probably works best, as it effectively humanizes those characters whom other films might simply dismiss as country bumpkins.<\/p>\n<p>It helps that Novak surrounds himself with solid actors, including Louanne Stephens (of \u201cFriday Night Lights\u201d fame), Issa Rae, and the incomparable J. Smith-Cameron. The film also features Ashton Kutcher, turning in a soulful performance as a record producer. Novak himself does well enough and truly pushes himself as an actor, but the real MVP here is Boyd Holbrook, who finds just the right balance of humor and anger as the extroverted Ty. Holbrook has been in the film industry for a while now, often playing important, but ultimately bland characters in films like \u201cThe Predator\u201d and \u201cLogan.\u201d This film, however, gives him a chance to really cut loose and enjoy himself. He is, by far, the best part of the film.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, though the film tries to bridge the gap between the urban and the rural (and the blue and the red states), there are several moments when it\u2019s clear that Novak still very much sees these characters \u2013 and, by extension, these types of people \u2013 as inherently different and himself \u2013 and people like him \u2013 as obviously normal. He is no doubt trying to capture Ben\u2019s perspective, but he never<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a movie\u2019s producer, writer, director, and leading star are all the same person, one can\u2019t help but take notice. It usually means this person feels particularly passionate about the story being told \u2013 so much so that they wear multiple hats just to make sure everything is done exactly to their specifications. Actor B.J. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1579602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1579509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1579509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1579602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1579509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1579509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1579509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}