Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe
Starring: Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe, Virginia Newcomb, Kevin Changaris, Olivia Grace Applegate
With
Thunder Road
and
The Wolf of Snow Hollow, writer/director/leading man Jim Cummings established himself
as one of the most exciting American indie auteurs to arrive on the
scene in the last decade. His shtick is so distinctive (all his films
are centred on men, played by himself, having some sort of breakdown as
they attempt to negotiate the stress of their careers and other
inconveniences) that it's a surprise to see him share writing and
directing duties (with PJ McCabe) on his third film,
The Beta Test.
Who knows what contributions McCabe made, but this is very much another
Cummings joint. This time the stressed out anti-hero played by Cummings
is Hollywood talent agent Jordan. Sober for five years, Jordan seems to
have replaced alcohol with adrenalin, living his life at 100mph as he
attempts to land clients in an uncertain climate where his role is
becoming less vital every day.
One morning Jordan receives a purple envelope in the mail. Inside is an
offer to meet a woman in a hotel room for anonymous, no strings sex.
Assuming it's a scam, Jordan tosses the envelope in the trash, but he
can't shake the idea out of his head and decides to accept the invite.
All goes as promised, with Jordan finding a mask hanging on the door of
the arranged hotel room. Donning the mask, he enters the room, where he
finds a similarly masked woman. Nature takes its course and Jordan
leaves the hotel satisfied.
In the days following however, Jordan becomes consumed with the feeling
that he's been played. I mean, life doesn't just throw such gifts in
your lap does it? Is he about to be blackmailed? Will his fiancée (Virgina Newcomb) be told of his indiscretion, mere weeks before their wedding date?
Was the masked mystery woman someone he knows?
Desperate for answers, Jordan conducts a haphazard investigation to get
to the bottom of who is responsible. The movie then adopts the structure
of a classic detective thriller, but Jordan is no Sam Spade. Trying to
use the manufactured charm of his industry, Jordan finds himself
constantly running into dead ends as those who might be able to provide
answers refuse to indulge him. But with each failed attempt to schmooze
his way into someone's good nature, he learns a lesson, adapts his
approach and begins to slowly collect pieces of this maddening
jigsaw.
Jordan is something of a wannabe Patrick Bateman who can't quite bring
himself to become a full-on sociopath. Every time he and his fellow
agent best friend PJ (McCabe) insult someone they find themselves
immediately apologising for their behaviour. Jordan's fiancée
Caroline coldly points out that she doesn't really know the real
man she's about to marry as he's constantly putting on different faces,
adapting like a chameleon to whatever social scenario he happens to be
facing. As Christian Bale's Bateman said of himself, "I simply don’t
exist." In one of the film's more cutting lines, Jordan voices his
objection to a bout of what he perceives as insults from Caroline, who
coldly responds "I'm not insulting you, I'm just describing you."
The cringe comedy of Cummings' films can be traced back to the likes of
Fawlty Towers. With The Beta Test, Cummings establishes himself as the heir to John Cleese's throne as
the king of cringe comedy. Like Cleese he exploits his physicality and
nervous, almost scary energy for comic purposes. There's little in
recent American cinema as riveting as watching a signature Cummings
protagonist launch into one of his now trademark rants as they finally
flip out like Basil Fawlty at the end of an episode. Cummings delivers
one here in a car park that would be the stuff of Oscar nominations if
Academy voters were bothered to, you know, actually watch movies.
Cummings is a very handsome man, but it's an uncertain sort of
handsome. He's as chiselled and square-jawed as Jon Hamm but you could
never picture him playing the sort of confident in their masculinity
male figures Hamm is known for. There's a fragility to his handsomeness
and the characters he plays either don't realise they're handsome or in
Jordan's case fear that their looks are about to disappear ("My teeth
are a mess," he claims, despite having an enviably beaming white smile).
A Cummings protagonist is that really good looking bloke you know who is
nonetheless terrible with women. Jordan catches the eye of several women
throughout, only to blow it by behaving like a serial killer in their
presence. Every time he begins speaking to a woman you find yourself
shrinking in your chair as you can see where he's taking the
conversation. The film makes several references to how things were
easier for men like Jordan in the old days, before "Harvey" ruined it
for them. You get the impression that having once been able to exploit
women for sex, Jordan now finds himself floundering with no idea of how
to get a woman into his bed through conventional means.
The Beta Test doesn't always work, with the storytelling
a little too chaotic and unfocussed at times. But you don’t really watch
a Jim Cummings movie for its story. You watch it for his unique screen
presence, which keeps you gripped throughout, hanging on his characters'
every word. There are movie stars and there are great actors. Cummings
is one of those rarities, a great actor who also ticks every box that
defines a movie star. How is Hollywood not at his feet?
