Bummed

The single most frustrating thing about the drama Bummed, is that there is a good, possibly even great movie buried in there somewhere. As it currently stands, this is not it, but the seeds for something outstanding are sowed throughout. For all the good elements, the movie fails to engage the audience with its characters, mainly because they are all selfish idiots (and not in a purposeful way).

Written, directed, and co-starring Ryan Bergez Bummed follows therapist Michelle (Courtney Long), whose husband Brendan (Ryan Bergez) drowned in a boating accident three years ago. While her mother-in-law Deborah (Sue Hardie) believes him to be gone, the fact that a body was never recovered continually gives Michelle a modicum of hope.

“Is this simply an overly active imagination yearning for hope? Or is Charlie an amnesia-stricken Brendan?”

One day while driving home from work, Michelle accidentally hits a homeless man’s cart with her car, knocking it over. She gets out to help pick everything up and realizes this person bears an uncanny resemblance to her husband. When confronted, the homeless man says he is Charlie, not Brendan, though he can only recall so far back in his life as Charlie.

In hopes to spur some memories of their time together and get her husband back, Michelle takes Charlie to her apartment. Now, she has to juggle the grubby habits of Charlie, the intense needs of a new client at work, and the reactions of her friends and family when she reveals Charlie to them. Is this simply an overly active imagination yearning for hope? Or is Charlie an amnesia-stricken Brendan?

The first problem to be noticed in Bummed, though not the only one, is Courtney Long. Okay, that might be a little harsh, as she had nothing to do with the writing of the screenplay. She looks continuously confused, and her line readings are either wooden or angry with nothing in-between. As such, relating to her plight and feeling empathy with the very dramatic arcs, her character undergoes proves impossible.