Review: Standby

Standby would be an extremely poor barometer by which to judge Jessica Paré's post-Mad Men career. The Irish film, however, does prove that the beautiful, charmingly gap-toothed Canadian actress is an arrestingly watchable presence. This goofy gazelle is the sole point of interest in the slight and insufficient rom-com from directors Rob and Ronan Burke.

Paré plays Alice, an American woman who shows up at the airport tourist information counter manned by Dubliner Alan (Brian Gleeson). Her appearance resurrects old wounds as the two shared an intense summer romance some eight years back that ended with her proposing marriage and his running away. They may be different people now - a little less hopeful, a little more hardened by life's disappointments - but the feelings are still there. The two agree to reconnect for one night before she's scheduled to return to New York the next morning.

Of course, this scenario has been done before and certainly rendered with more panache than what the brothers Burke have done. They and screenwriter Pierce Ryan pile on so many formulaic elements: Alan has a dead end job and lives with his divorced dad; his mates pick on him for screwing up all potential relationships whilst simultaneously encouraging him to find happiness; Alan and Alice grow closer, pull apart, gently accuse and hesitantly forgive as they traipse around Dublin. They engage in some mild shenanigans, including an awkward Valentine's Day dinner in which Alan convinces his co-worker Beatrice (Francesca Cherruault) to masquerade as his girlfriend. Yet it's all so directionless. Well, there is a direction - all signs point to the requisite happy ending - but all of these contrivances are there to kill time. It's actually quite remarkable how all 85 minutes of Standby feel like filler.

One can weave a multi-course meal out of the most meager of morsels. Think of what Richard Linklater achieved with the Before Trilogy. A boy and a girl meet on a train and fall in love over the course of a single night. Nothing could be simpler, and yet Before Sunrise is one of the most complex and insightful films about relationships. Its follow-up, Before Sunset, was even more so. Standby hews closer to Before Sunset, where now-jaded lovers encounter one another after many years to dissect what could have been and what could possibly be. On its own, Standby is recycled drivel. Gleeson and Paré ​share little to no chemistry and their scenes together lack the natural flow that made Before Sunset such a breezy and riveting watch.

Standby

Directed by: Rob Burke, Ronan Burke

Written by: Pierce Ryan

Starring: Jessica Paré, Brian Gleeson, Stanley Townsend, Francesca Cherruault