Don’t assume you know what you are walking into just by reading a tagline of a film’s description. Trailers can be equally deceiving. The D Train is definitely one of these circumstances where the viewer must be prepared for anything to happen. And sometimes, that something can change the entire course you thought the movie was headed on.
The big factors in how this type of movie came to fruition are the production studios that helped make and distribute the film. It’s not exactly the type of movie any distributor would want to pick up. That being said, I can say for certain The D Train finds a home with IFC Films and the production studio used, Ealing Studios (Shaun of the Dead). One lesser known credit I caught in the opening list of production studies and other film agencies involved in the making was for Stage 6 Films, who, having been created by Sony, are responsible for such recent films as The Raid and the Insidious sagas.
The cast is fantastic. First, the onscreen chemistry between Jack Black and his social counterpart, James Marsden, is hardly rivaled by any other bromance ever portrayed on the silver screen. Fair warning, it gets intimate. But the laughs continue, as this is a comedy, or a dramedy, or a brodramedy, if you will. Supporting roles made the story seem more convincing, portrayed by some of Black’s fellow acting entourage, but stealing the limelight was Kathryn Hahn and Jeffrey Tambor. I believe the success in this movie was the ability of the cast’s portrayal of real human beings. We are awkward, spontaneous, and sometimes we don’t make any sense at all, sometimes even being marred with social discrepancies we can’t comprehend, but certainly overcome.
The comedy is Jack Black, and the drama is James Marsden, then some how it becomes intertwined, forming sheer entertainment, regardless of the painful awkward moments that are purposely put there to break you out of your comfort zone.
There’s even a lot to take away from the plot. It’s a story with good resolve, and it accomplishes this by it’s creative spontaneity in story development. Don’t be too quick to judge, for we are only human and this story has no pedestal deserving protagonist, but a lonely person, who left unsatisfied ends up spiraling into the chaotic Hollywood culture equipped solely with blind naivety and semi-deceitful wit. As The D Train comes barreling back into his everyday life, he quickly becomes derailed with the sobering reality he is forced to face. It’s hard to tell if he actually crashes and burns. It’s not for me to say. The movie makes you ask yourself whether or not in life you would cross certain lines and for what purpose, meaning, or significance does crossing these lines bring.
Look for The D Train in theaters this weekend and just remember, it’s Jack Black. Anything can happen.
