Film: The Pretty One
Directed By: Jenée LaMarque
Written By: Jenée LaMarque
Starring: Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, Ron Livingston

Jenée LaMarque’s directorial debut, The Pretty One, is a 90-minute, self-proclaimed “dark comedy” with some unique ideas that help slightly differentiate it from correspondent features in the “sibling swap” and “life upside-down” niche genres. It touches on themes of letting go, moving on, and very literal identity crises.

While it has some heart and mild charm, it attempts to be both a comedy and a drama but never fully succeeds in being either effectively. Massive tonal transitions make it feel unfocused and forced at times but is carried along by competent acting and quirky details.

The story follows Laurel (Zoe Kazan), a sheltered, naïve, and somewhat pitiful 20-something that lives with her father (John Carroll Lynch). After her mother died, she couldn’t let go, and as her twin sister states, she “acts like her dad’s wife” by cooking and cleaning for him and wearing her late mother’s old clothing. Laurel claims that it makes her feel closer to her mother but everyone around her just views her as an oddity. She spends her days painting with her father who makes a living creating copies of popular works. However, Laurel’s pieces are usually flawed, much like herself.

Her twin, Audrey, considered “the pretty one,” had moved out after their mother’s passing and made a life for herself, unlike her sister. She moved to a bigger city, got a job in real estate, and was able to move on and progress. Their father seems to favor Laurel and resents Audrey as he feels that she had abandoned them by moving on.

Audrey comes home for the twins’ birthday, a party which is botched when Laurel is caught kissing a minor that she had babysat. Audrey finds Laurel sulking in a tree-house and offers to let her move in with her in the city so that she can move on from the past, grow up, and continue painting for herself, sans father’s corrections. Laurel agrees and Audrey expresses that her sister needs a makeover before they leave town for her new life. The pretty one leaves Laurel at the salon while she goes to buy her a dress only to come back to a sister that now looks identical due to Laurel’s choice in the same updated hairstyle as her sister.

Shortly after, in a matter of seconds, the film goes from playful indie film to unexpected dramatic tension as the two sisters are hit head-on by a large truck at a stop light in the middle of nowhere just after switching seats in the vehicle. It’s discovered that Audrey was burnt to death in a fire caused by the accident so obviously it was not noticed that they both had the same haircut. Laurel was ejected through the windshield and suffered some minor injuries. Everyone, including the father, seems oddly unaffected by this initially even as Laurel, whom he thought had died, was the twin that he seemed to wholeheartedly have more affection for.

It’s not till sometime later after Laurel wakes up from her first night at home does she realize that she’s in fact Laurel and that she will essentially be attending her own funeral. She approaches her father and stepmother with the intentions of revealing her recent realization but is cut off to discover that they feel that it’s better that Laurel had died than for Audrey to have because Laurel wouldn’t have been able to handle the death of her sister as she still held on firmly to her mother’s death. At this point, Laurel leaves in confusion and distress and feels forced to take on the role of “the pretty one.” As she attends her own funeral she realizes how little her friends and family seemed to truly care about her as no one has anything to say when given the chance to share memories or pay tribute. This is obviously very upsetting to Laurel who goes on the defensive as Audrey to pay tribute to herself and confront those around her for not believing in her or caring enough.

Deciding that it’s time to step further into Audrey’s life, Laurel leaves home for a fresh start. Returning to Audrey’s duplex, she’s met by her neighbor and tenant, Basel, played by the always likable Jake Johnson. She finds out that Audrey had planned to make him move out so that Laurel could move in to the home. Basel is relieved to find out that he can now stay but notices that Audrey is decidedly different, and far more likable herself.

Much of the mundane or unimpressive material leading up to this finally becomes much funnier and more enjoyable as Jake Johnson becomes more friendly with Laurel who he thinks is Audrey. Johnson has an innate ability to bring out a charm in any given situation by creating a chemistry with his co-stars where there may not have been any had he not been involved.

As Laurel adjusts to Audrey’s adult life with no help from her own lack of experience, awkwardness, and diminished confidence, a very predictable flame ignites between Laurel and Basel. Her vulnerability becomes security as she falls for Basel and vice versa. His support grows her confidence as she becomes more adept as a grown-up, finding herself more proficient at her sister’s job.

Despite finding her way for the most part, there’s no getting around the complexity of the situation at hand. Laurel finds herself in many confusing and difficult situations as she lies each day to everyone she knows only to have to make the decision as to whether or not she should come clean or stay the course of deceit.

As stated before, The Pretty One, while touching on trite themes, makes some room for itself with decent performances and tepid charisma but is afflicted by unfocused writing. Luckily the plot is full and resolvable even despite the bumps along the way to the film’s closing. Had LaMarque tightened up the script in terms of genre, The Pretty One likely would have served much better as either a comedy with few dark tones or a drama with some laughs. As that would sound like exactly what was attempted initially, the film feels unsure of itself throughout which makes it difficult to properly feel affected by the proposed comedic or dramatic aspects.

Grade: C

Review written by: Brian Lion — Follow him on Twitter

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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