Mr. Roosevelt movie review & film summary (2017)
Emily is a transplant to Los Angeles from Austin, Texas. She is unmoored. The "industry" has no idea what to do with someone like her. She doesn't know what to do, and her awkward self-deprecation makes others recoil from her. When her ex-boyfriend Eric (Nick Thune) calls to let her know that her cat—Mr. Roosevelt—has died, Emily dissolves into tears and books the first flight back to Austin she can find.
Wells is an established actress and writer. With a recurring role on "Master of None," and a brief stint on "Saturday Night Live," she also recently played Jessica Williams' best friend in "The Incredible Jessica James," and was funny support staff to the lead. In her first film as a writer-director, she presents a world she clearly knows well. From Texas originally, Wells filmed "Mr. Roosevelt" around Austin, with the clear familiarity of a local. Austin residents will probably pick up more of her commentary than outsiders, but it's clear what she's getting at when she shows Emily's disappointment at the closing of her favorite coffee shop. Austin is gentrifying. Wells has been very smart in creating the lead character, both in the writing, and the performing. She presents Emily in broad strokes at first—the audition, a one-night stand with a guy who never puts down his phone (even when her head is in his crotch), her free-floating ambition for a career—but much of it works by stealth. You have to put it together as you go. Wells herself is very endearing as a personality, so it takes a while to really "get" that Emily is kind of a nightmare. For example, she arrives in Austin with just a backpack, having made no arrangements for where she will stay. She clearly assumes she will stay with her ex in the house where they once lived together, even though he is involved in a brand-new relationship. This is a woman who does not have her act together. Over the course of the film, her nonexistent "act" will deteriorate even further, as she thrashes about in jealousy at her ex's perfect new girlfriend, bristles at questions about her life in Los Angeles, and ratchets up her competitive mourning for the aforementioned cat Mr. Roosevelt. It's not that Emily is not likable. It's that she's a mess. Being a mess is extremely human.
Eric's new girlfriend is the kind of woman designed to make insecure women feel worse. She is, as Emily complains, a "Pinterest board come to life." Celeste, played by Britt Lower with impenetrable calm that also manages to be very funny, is an "entrepreneur," equally handy with whipping up mimosas and whipping out a drill. Eric—once a musician—is now studying to get his real estate license. Emily compliments Eric on a shirt he's wearing and he replies, "It's breathable cotton." He drinks oolong tea now. Emily is horrified. She doesn't even know who he is anymore. At a disastrous group dinner at a restaurant, Emily meets Jen (the wonderful Daniella Pineda) while having a private freakout in the bathroom, and Jen matter-of-factly throws a glass of water in Emily's face to snap her out of hysteria. It's the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The premise of "Mr. Roosevelt" is pretty slight, but it's filled with funny performances and biting snippets of social commentary. There's a really well-done sequence—the most evocative in the film—where Emily hangs out with Jen and her friends at a watering hole, and they get stoned and all take their tops off ("It's legal here," someone drawls) and do cannon balls into the water, or tiptoe across the rocks in an awkward kick-line. The nudity is playful, innocent, and captures Austin—its essence and vibe, a vibe Wells clearly loves. Emily's behavior leads her on a collision course with Celeste, with Eric, with her own life, and even with Jen, who constantly has a glass of water at the ready should Emily ratchet it up again.
