Review: The D Train

There are so many contrivances that beggar belief in Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel's joint directorial debut, The D Train, that it's a near miracle that they don't derail the film. There is something about this dramedy that engages and provokes even as it stumbles in tone and execution.

Jack Black is Dan Landsman, an ordinary man with a steady job at a consulting firm owned by the hopelessly antiquated Bill Shurmur (Jeffrey Tambor). Shurmur sticks to making calls on a rotary phone and doing business deals face-to-face. Shurmur is fond of Dan and Dan's enthusiasm but until they land a client with a steady cash flow, then Dan will have make do with the office's barely-there internet connection. At home, Dan contents himself with his lovely wife (the ever-indispensable Kathryn Hahn), teenage son (Russell Posner), and new baby girl. Despite all this, he feels inadequate and non-existent.

Part of this is stoked by being the self-appointed chairman of his high school reunion's committee, where the other members treat him as if they were all back in high school by ignoring his directives and shutting him out of the after-meeting drinks. Then one night, Dan happens upon a suntan lotion television commercial starring Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), the coolest guy in high school, and gets an idea. What if he can convince his old "buddy" Oliver to attend the reunion? Everyone else would want to come and Dan would be a hero for making it all happen.

Dan, who's not above exaggerating the truth, fabricates an excuse to travel from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to personally secure Oliver's RSVP. He tells both his wife and his boss that he's going on a business trip to land a potentially lucrative client. Shurmur ends up tagging along, though he proves only a slight obstacle once they're in Los Angeles. Surprisingly, Oliver agrees to meet Dan for drinks and Dan, so blind in his hero worship, fails to notice that Oliver is not exactly the big-time celebrity he envisions him to be. Still, the two have a great time - Oliver roused from his doldrums by being with someone who idolises him, and Dan clearly ecstatic at having the kind of drink and drug-filled guys' night he's never experienced in his life. Oliver even helps him with his business ruse and Dan returns home to await the night of the reunion. Dan should be in seventh heaven, but something happened during his time with Oliver and how he fails to process this proves particularly disastrous.

High-school reunions dredge up dormant disappointments and insecurities, so it's not hard to believe Dan's inflated inferiority complex or how he reverts to behaving like a puppy eager to please in Oliver's presence. What is more difficult to swallow is the extent of that self-doubt. Dan has made something of himself and he has been married to his high school sweetheart for 14 years. His wife, based on her warm welcome at the reunion, had a healthy level of popularity so surely her acceptance of him would have given Dan some degree of confidence. The business scheme is so unnecessary to the story, but it does result in a touching moment from Tambor, who conveys such disappointment at the reveal that one forgives the sloppiness in storytelling.

One forgives a good many things in The D Train because, at its core, there is something uncommon and radical. To go into specifics would reveal spoilers, but Paul and Mogel tackle a little-seen subject with a fair amount of tact and sensitivity. There are no easy explanations for what happens, and even fewer answers. Though they provide closure when leaving the situation unresolved would have made for a stronger reverberation, the filmmakers should be applauded for even broaching the topic in the first place.

The leading duo deliver skillful portrayals. This may be a personal best for Marsden, who completely embodies Oliver's shallowness without alienating viewer empathy. Black demonstrates his underrated depth of talent, portraying a man increasingly conflicted by the emotions of trauma, shame, envy, resentment, and longing unearthed by Oliver.

The D Train

Directed by: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel

Written by: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel

Starring: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Russell Posner, Mike White, Henry Zebrowski