Bob Odenkirk deserves to be in the bad-boy club headed by Liam Neeson.
Nobody
“Give me the god---m Kitty cat bracelet, Motherf----r” Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk)
It’s hard to believe I am backing away from completing the cuss words of one of the year’s most violent and enjoyable films, Nobody, yet I don’t want you to be excluded from viewing because this is a really good thriller. The difference between the currently milquetoasted Hutch and the assassin he used to be is suggested by his finally being enflamed that house invaders stole his daughter’s cat bracelet.
Much of Nobody is cliched, for instance Hutch’s attempt to give up a lucrative and dangerous career as an “auditor,” who cleans up for the big three-letter agencies (think Harvey Keitel’s job in Pulp Fiction). In a retirement mode, he’s doing humble for his family until the little bracelet sends him back into revenge mode.
Although writer Derek Kolstad comes from John Wick, the bloodshed has more human texture here. Although Liam Neeson seems to have cornered the angry older guy, Bob Odenkirk is a worthy member of the club. In fact, he’s glamorously scruffy like another bad-ass operative played by Jason Statham.
Nobody has more Tarantino with its bad-boy dialogue and casual banter than even Pulp Fiction allows. Hutch is truly bad while he seems more domesticated than his revenge-club buds. Meanwhile his ‘hood is good, and there appears to be no local threat by way of the gun. Until, until, the Russians are coming, headed by a charismatic villain, Yulian (Aleksey Serebryakov), who does an amusing karaoke and merciless pummeling in addition to humorous retorts.
When Yulian comes after Hutch for the job Hutch did on Yulian’s brother, Hutch goes into the offensive, and let’s just say there are fewer Russians than when we started. The cleverness of this actioner is that the audience can laugh at the expected set pieces because Hutch intersperses his bang ‘em up with wry wit and an everyman persona that wins audience approval every time.
Protecting his family is another expectation of the thriller formula; only, Hutch does it with such obvious love that the audience dismisses the fear of the thugs with the assurance that Hutch will bring few surprises and much bloody fighting usually at Russian expense. Because Hutch also gets the s____ kicked out of him, the aud can identify.
You will have entertaining viewing and Keanu Reeves, Jason Statham, Liam Neeson, and Charles Bronson in one compact, angry, and amusing Bob Odenkirk. A side pleasure is to see him in a role completely different from his in Breaking Bad. He’ll be around for a while as long as auds demand this genre break only a few of its rules. Also look for Christopher LLoyd and Michael Ironside to amuse further.
In theaters now, where sparse to no audiences guarantee you and your buddies can act like bad Bob Odenkirk. On demand April 16.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JohnDeSando62@gmail.com
