It’s always enjoyable heading back to the decade of decadence, after all that’s the landscape of my youth. So, one can imagine the joy of diving into Rent-A-Pal and its premise that centers on a middle-aged man trying to find love in the video age. In that effort, David (Brian Landis Folkins) may have also found a new BFF in the form of Andy (Wil Wheaton).
“Wait, what?” you’re thinking.
See while David is at the video dating service picking up his weekly pile of potential love interests’ tapes, he sees Andy’s smiling face in the discount bin. His video is entitled, “Rent-A-Pal.” After going through his potential matches’ tapes, he pops in the “Rent-A-Pal” tape, and at first, it’s a little odd. But after a few drinks, coupled with an eerily aware Andy, these two form a strong bond.
Our protagonist is a full-time caregiver for his mother. They get by on her Social Security and he lives in her basement, something he doesn’t hide in his dating videos—perhaps hindering his efforts to find amore. Mom has dementia and it’s getting worse by the week, but never wavering in his support is her David—who she thinks is her late husband most of the time. It’s a demanding life, but he has an innately caring nature that allows him to selflessly take care of her as she ages and he’s not getting any younger.
David has not had any matches to speak of, so when the service calls and informs him that there has been a match with Lisa (Amy Rutledge), he cannot believe his fortune. The thing is, she’s a caregiver too, professionally that is, and keenly understands his situation. In fact, she finds it honorable and deeply attractive. Perhaps our guy is on his way to happiness, crawling out of a sea of loneliness and despondency.
Thing is… Andy doesn’t seem to be having it and things start getting truly creepy. Is it possible that Andy is real and that this “Rent-A-Pal” can see into David’s life and soul? He even gets David to cancel a second date with Lisa because they had plans! Creepy. But utterly compelling as a viewer.
Writer-director Jon Stevenson has crafted a tone with Rent-A-Pal that always feels skewed. There’s an uneasiness to it throughout, and that obviously is on purpose. It works wholeheartedly. Although there is a moment or two of levity and the promise of love, that quickly gets sucked into a hurricane of paranoia, domestic stress, familial guilt, stagnant life frustration, and yes, Andy.
Folkins’ commands the screen. When we first meet David, it is easy to see that this is a guy who is barely getting by and someone who is drowning in loneliness. He is longing for love and believes he has a lot to offer. Viewers will feel sorry for him. But at the same time, there is something simmering below the surface. As Folkins portrays him, that trait is extremely subtle—it’s almost impossible to notice. As the film progresses, one can see that there is a lot going on in that mind of David’s.
He clearly loves his mother and takes taking care of her seriously, putting his happiness second. Even the most saintly soul can get frustrated with the tragedy that is dementia that only gets worse with time. When we learn that his mother ruled the home with an iron fist in the discipline department, not only does his loner persona ring true, but that building resentment feels like it could explode into a firestorm at any minute.
That’s why it is so refreshing when David meets Lisa. There is the brightest glimmer of hope that this poor guy might actually have some decent days amongst the tough ones. Rutledge brings compassion to the part that is exactly what the doctor ordered for David. Of all the folks who have made videotaped introductions at the dating service, for Lisa to rise to the top for him appears to be a long-overdue stroke of good fortune. She is a caregiver by trade and brings something out of the middle-aged man that is a first for him—a relationship that is reciprocal.
Then, there’s Andy.
As inhabited by Wheaton, this exists on videotape only character… is peculiar, to put it mildly. Either sober or in various states of drunkenness, David converses with Andy on his basement TV. The budding friendship is palpable. Much of the credit has to go to the former Star Trek: The Next Generation star. When David’s relationship with Lisa ramps up, it strangely appears that our protagonist’s video pal is a tad jealous. As we witness this unfold, the audience keenly is aware that Andy is pre-taped. Clearly, he is not real… in the sense that Andy is not in the room with David. But his responses to the various variables that are David’s moods and topics of conversation are rivetingly raw and real. When that inescapable drama that we all know is coming starts to rear its head, it is as haunting as any cinematic antagonist that came before. Not wanting to give anything away spoiler-wise, but let’s just say this: At one point, the television gets turned on by accident and there is a seething glare that is emitted from Andy. If looks could kill, whoever is on the other end of that gaze, their heart would stop.
One of the most delightful aspects of reviewing films is the surprise cinematic joy that arrives from a movie that you went in completely blind. When it came to Rent-A-Pal, I hadn’t even viewed a trailer. That made the impact of this story all the more tangible. The emotional rollercoaster that ensued was as fun as any Six Flags ride in that it grabs the viewers by the lapels and never lets them go until the bitter end. It also is one of those movie moments where the credits conclude, and one still is staring at that dark screen with jaw agape, thinking, “what did I just watch?!”
Grade: B