Movie Review: Meet Bill starring Aaron Eckhart

Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Alba Co-Star in Midlife Crisis Comedy

Feb 26, 2009

Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Banks, and Jessica Alba, star in Meet Bill, a comedy about a man with a midlife crisis, who gets by with the help of some unlikely friends.

In Meet Bill Aaron Eckhart plays Bill, a burned-out bank executive, who depends on the kindness and success of his wife’s father and brother to earn a decent living. With an ever-expanding waistline, it’s no surprise when Bill reveals his dream of opening a SweetSweet doughnut shop, and finally breaking free from the grip of his controlling in-laws.

It’s not long before Bill receives the shot in the arm, or sucker-punch in the gut, needed to break free from the confines of his soul-sucking stability. His wife is cheating on him. Bill is at first crushed – then humiliated – after he watches the secret sex video he rigged up to catch her in the act. She goes on about the manhood of her lover, Chip Johnson (Timothy Olyphant), a slimy weasel newscaster and local celebrity, while comparing Bill to “a little acorn.”

It’s too much for Bill to swallow, and there’s nothing anyone, including his brother Sarge and lover Paul, can do to stop him from going off the deep end. Only thanks to the persistence of a fun-loving youth in Sarge’s mentoring program, played phenomenally by Logan Lerman, does Bill realize that off-the-deep end is exactly where he needs to be, and he’s got the perfect companion for the ride.

Elizabeth Banks is Adorable Even as Self-Serving Wife

Banks is her cute, adorable self, even while bringing to life the role of an insufferably spoiled woman who can’t seem to decide whether she’s in love with Bill or not.

(It seems as though she has played this part before – see Definitely, Maybe – but in this film, she ups the ante on the audience’s urge to love and hate her at the same time.)

Alba’s scenes require less substance, but she certainly makes the most of things. Her relationship with Lerner is a bit confusing at first, but straightens itself out as the film hurtles toward its third act.

While the entire cast is solid, the real star here is the script. It’s written honestly by co-director Melisa Wallack, who keeps the tone fun and light, while rendering Bill’s story with an honesty that could only have come from someone close to a similar situation. In life, these things aren’t so fun.

To read more about the cast and crew in Meet Bill, visit IMDB, or head over to the Green Street Films website.

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