RESULTS

Guy Pearce     Cobie Smulders     Giovanni Ribisi     Kevin Corrigan     Tishuan Scott

Results takes place at a fitness gym, Power 4 Life, which advertises just that:  results.  It’s where the owner-manager Trevor (Pearce) keeps a cool head when trainers like Kat (Smulders) and Lorenzo (Scott) get into conflict or Kat gets too ambitious (e.g., hassling a client stopped at a stop sign for not paying her bill).  He tries to be cool when a man drops in to enroll, but has no idea what he wants to accomplish.  He seems to be going on the idea that this is what people with money do. It turns out that Danny (Corrigan) inherited a lot of money recently, and wants to spend it on whatever, for instance, offering to pay the gym fee a year in advance and offering a repairman $200 just for a TV hook-up.  Trevor senses something odd about him and wants to pair him with Scott to avoid any sticky issues, but Kat insists that she deserves the new client and can handle Danny.  So she gets him.

 

As time passes, dual relationships develop, complicating the picture and moving the film quickly into comedy.  As Danny makes efforts to get into shape—huffing and puffing—his many quirks emerge, including his making a pass at Kat, and it is apparent that she is unable to manage him after all.  Trevor steps in, but almost loses him as a client, and has to back up and try again.   They eventually become friends, but complexities continue to develop, and Ribisi shows up as Danny’s attorney, which means there is still more to resolve, including a romantic relationship.

 

These actors are all very good, and it’s refreshing to see the talented Pearce play a more “normal” character who is not smarmy or dangerous.  He, Smulders, and Korrigan have good chemistry and elevate the film from the rather weak plot.  Andrew Bujalski, the writer/director (Computer Chess, Funny Ha Ha) likes to keep things loose, which derails the progression of the story  at times. 

A light comedy for date-night, maybe.

Grade:  C+ By Donna R. Copeland