Northwood Pie

Well-intentioned yet mostly uninvolving, Northwood Pie follows Todd Knaak’s Crispin as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery after landing a job at a neighborhood pizza joint. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that filmmaker Jay Salahi, working from a script written with Knaak, does a nice job of establishing an easygoing and freewheeling atmosphere, as Northwood Pie, though largely plotless, benefits from its ongoing emphasis on the characters’ laid-back exploits and encounters (and it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that Salahi offers up a relatively compelling romatic subplot between Crispin and Annika Foster’s sardonic Sierra). It’s disappointing to note, then, that Northwood Pie remains unable to wholeheartedly capture the viewer’s interest and attention for the duration of its short-yet-not-short-enough running time, as the movie suffers from dialogue that strains, for the most part, to come off as clever and funny – with the lackluster vibe compounded by a distressingly ineffective lead performance by Knaak. (The actor’s smug, deadpan work here grows more and more grating as time progresses, ultimately.) The triumphant finale is consequently unable to pack the emotional, cathartic punch Salahi has surely intended, which does, in the end, confirm Northwood Pie‘s place as an almost watchable misfire that isn’t, admittedly, without its minor charms.

** out of ****