Middle of Nowhere

Entertaining yet utterly forgettable, Middle of Nowhere follows perpetual screw-up Dorian (Anton Yelchin) as he reluctantly takes on a job at a local water park at the insistence of his parents – with the bulk of the movie revolving around his friendship with a studious coworker (Eva Amurri’s Grace) and their subsequent decision to go into business selling marijuana. Director John Stockwell has infused Middle of Nowhere with a laid-back, low-key sensibility that proves effective in establishing a very specific time and place within the lives of the various characters, yet there’s little doubt that Stockwell’s relaxed approach often seems at odds with Michelle Morgan’s almost egregiously busy screenplay – as the writer has peppered the proceedings with a number of subplots that ultimately prove a needless distraction from the ongoing Dorian/Grace storyline. It’s not surprising to note that the emotional impact that Stockwell is clearly striving for is consequently dulled by the proliferation of such elements, although, to be fair, there are a few sequences that do manage to effectively tug at the viewer’s heartstrings (something that’s especially true of Dorian’s short-lived encounter with his birth mother). That being said, Middle of Nowhere remains an affable piece of work for the duration of its brisk running time – as one is increasingly drawn into the personable shenanigans of the almost uniformly likeable characters.

**1/2 out of ****