In John Montgomery’s Like Normal People, Duke and Otto are two men down on their luck, living out of a classic 1956 Buick. The car is their home, and each night they look for a safe place to park, while, during the day, they attempt to stay one step ahead of a repo man who wants to drag their home away.
Our pair has settled into their daily routine of making it through another day. They wake up, find food, hang with the other homeless, maybe catch a shower by the beach, and find a safe place to park for the night. Now and then, they steal a moment to dream about getting out of this homeless situation.
As time passes, Duke and Otto’s friendship is tested. Otto is still broken by the dissolution of his marriage and by not seeing his children since becoming homeless. Duke continues to carry the weight of his failed business. Over time, Duke and Otto meet other homeless people, including Roy, who hustles his way through small jobs, and Darlene, whose husband left her for a younger woman. The boys enlist Darlene to help them get free food and coffee at a nearby open house.
Desperately needing a change, Duke applies for a dockworker job. The interview ends with the obligatory “We’ll let you know.” On his way back to the car, Duke runs into Lorna, who thinks he is being robbed, but it turns out to be a misunderstanding. Appreciative of the attempted rescue, Lorna asks Duke out for dinner. He says yes and now has to come up with stories to explain his current economic position… or lack thereof.
“Duke and Otto are two men down on their luck, living out of a classic 1956 Buick.”
Like Normal People was shot over 30 years ago, in the mid-90s, and I’m going to assume it was filmed on video. Yes, it’s a bit dated. The homeless problem in Los Angeles in the 90s was a cakewalk compared to the homeless problem in Los Angeles today. Even in the 90s, I’m amazed anyone could get good footage in Los Angeles anymore.
But enough about the looks; it’s really about the story. Filmmaker Montgomery drops us right into the issues surrounding homelessness at that time. Duke and Otto are polar opposites as homeless men. Duke is a proud man looking to get out of this mess, while Otto is the more emotional one, bearing the burden of homelessness.
Like many stories from the 90s, Like Normal People is about characters placed in a hopeless situation who must work together to get out, while also exploring the realities of homelessness—how we get there, how we survive, and how we move forward. Montgomery brings a compassionate, thoughtful perspective to the issue. It’s a hopeful story, not filled with the grim darkness of contemporary nihilism.
What makes Like Normal People stick is how John Montgomery keeps the focus on people searching for one break in life, big or small. Beneath the rough edges of 90s filmmaking, Like Normal People finds humanity in struggle and lets its small hopes matter.
