Director Todd Solondz is not known for his cheerful examinations of lives lived. He is, in essence, a Debbie Downer.
However, there’s something darkly humorous about this latest effort, “Dark Horse,” featuring a middle-aged man/loser who blames all of his earthly woes on those around him.
Abe (Jordan Gelber) is a lazy shlub who lives with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow), who barely works at his dad’s real estate firm, who never finished college and who hustles his mom at backgammon for money.
And yet, Abe thinks he’s cool, driving around in his Hummer and hitting on women at weddings who are way above his pay grade. This is where he meets Miranda (Selma Blair), who is self-loathing, depressed and socially comatose. In other words, a perfect match for Abe.
Their brief encounter leads to a quick marriage proposal, but no one believes Miranda will actually go through with it, except Abe.
The man is delusional times 10. And that delusion will slowly take hold of Abe, who is now having conversations with people who show up in the unlikeliest of moments.
It’s a bizarre story, to say the least, but one that is fairly engaging if you’re in the right frame of mind to enjoy its quirks.