{"id":3131,"date":"2018-02-08T18:00:10","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T18:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2018\/02\/08\/review-suicidal-man-seeks-mystery-woman-for-entanglement\/"},"modified":"2018-02-08T18:00:10","modified_gmt":"2018-02-08T18:00:10","slug":"review-suicidal-man-seeks-mystery-woman-for-entanglement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thunderbird.tv\/2018\/02\/08\/review-suicidal-man-seeks-mystery-woman-for-entanglement\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Suicidal Man Seeks Mystery Woman for \u2018Entanglement\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeannette Catsoulis\/ The New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n

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Indie romantic comedies are swarming with aimless, emotionally damaged men seeking meaning in the arms of confident young women. Sometimes, like Ben (Thomas Middleditch) in \u201cEntanglement,\u201d these sad specimens are permitted clinical passes for their weird behavior; but whether in need of restraints, medication or simply a decent barber, they are almost always presented as desirable romantic partners.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go with that, then. \u201cHe\u2019s not good in a crisis,\u201d Ben\u2019s father informs us, though a montage of botched suicide attempts has already established Ben\u2019s misery bona fides and general ineptness. His wife has skedaddled, but his nosy neighbor (the delightful Diana Bang) is eager to clean his house and enable his quest to track down the woman who was once almost his adoptive sister. Like the wiring in Ben\u2019s brain, it\u2019s complicated.<\/p>\n

Impressively photographed and perkily paced, Jason Filiatrault\u2019s story never droops quite as much as its lead character, injecting a welcome poignancy that tempers the cuteness. And Mr. Middleditch (star of the smart HBO comedy \u201cSilicon Valley\u201d and\u00a0those grating Verizon commercials) is blessedly low-key, dialing down the neuroses and allowing his director, Jason James, to control the increasingly sanguine mood.<\/p>\n

Yet the job of rescuing the movie from a well of cartoonish whimsy falls on the gifted Jess Weixler as Hanna, the mystery woman who gives Ben the eye and a reason to live. Pert and pretty and smart-mouthed, Hanna is intriguing and a little dangerous \u2014 the splash of vinegar that counters the sugar. That she would give Ben the time of day is more than enough notice that all may not be as it seems.<\/p>\n

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Entanglement<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n