The Wendell Baker Story

Likable lightweight Luke Wilson wrote, co-directed (with his brother Andrew), and stars in The Wendell Baker Story, a schizo shaggy-dog comedy about a jovial con man trying to turn his life around. Wilson plays Baker, a proprietor of fake IDs forced into self-awareness when his long-suffering girlfriend (Eva Mendes) dumps him after his arrest. Once paroled, Baker gets a gig at a crooked retirement home, where he attempts to thwart the head nurse, a grinning sadist (other brother Owen, naturally). The film was made five years ago and shelved—always a good sign—and it’s just been dusted off for DVD release. With its numerous false starts, parade of cameos, dueling plotlines and unsteady tone, The Wendell Baker Story is like three or four different movies, all of them dreadful.