Format: Streaming video from HBO on gigantic television.
Bob Odenkirk has an odd career trajectory. He made his bones in comedy as one half of the two heads of HBO’s Mr. Show, then became much more of a household name with his connection to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Recently, though, Odenkirk has become an action star, but a vastly different one in a lot of ways. Odenkirk’s action characters don’t spit one-liners and walk away with a couple of scratches. His characters get hurt—shot, stabbed, beaten, and bruised. And rather than one-liners, he’s going to have speeches and moments of surprising badassery. This brings us to Normal.
It’s also worth noting that there was a film made in the early 2000s that was also called Normal. It featured Tom Wilkinson and Jessica Lange as a married couple in a situation where he realizes that he is transgender and wants to undergo sex reassignment surgery. I say this not because these two movies would ever be confused beyond the name, but because it was filmed a few miles from where I live. Odenkirk’s Normal is not a story of discovery, but an extremely bloody action comedy with a surprisingly high body count and multiple Rube Goldberg-style deaths.
Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk), separated from his wife, makes a living as an interim sheriff. When a sheriff needs an extended medical leave, maternity leave, or dies (as is the case here), he shows up, not unlike a substitute teacher. His current job is in Normal, MN, scheduled for eight weeks until the town can hold an election for a new mayor. The town seems like its namesake, nothing out of the ordinary.
Things change when a couple of outsiders (Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher) arrive in town with plans to rob the local bank. What they discover is eye-opening, to say the least, and implicates the entire town in a scandal that is going to end up causing a lot of deaths. I’m tempted to reveal it here, but I won’t. This is despite the fact that the reveal happens early enough that knowing it going in is not going to spoil the film. Still, it’s best to not see the actual reveal coming until it happens.
That said, there are a few things that feel off about the town of Normal. The former sheriff died in very unusual circumstances—he was found outside in freezing temperatures in his underwear, holding a fishing rod. At the house after his funeral, it is revealed that he had an extensive and incredibly expensive whiskey collection that included at least one bottle that goes for $7,000. There is also the matter of the relationship with his child Alex (Jess McLeod), who seems to have a strained relationship with the entire town.
The truth of Normal is that it’s fun and it’s not really anything more than that. This is a film that trades almost entirely on extremely violent slapstick. There’s a lot of blood and a lot of death after the reveal, and a few of the deaths are graphic in the extreme. Many of them happen because of Rube Goldberg-like events, which tends to be inherently funny as well. The fact that this is a comedy is a bit surprising, coming from director Ben Wheatley, but the commitment to violence is absolutely not a shock at all.
Odenkirk really seems built for this kind of role. There’s a lot in common between Ulysses Richardson and his character from the Nobody franchise. He has the ability to dish out a lot of pain, but he’s going to take a lot of hits getting there. He’s not going to toss of Arnold Schwarzeneggar-style quips when he offs someone, but he is going to demonstrate a righteous anger and express in in ways that most actors can’t really approach.
This is also a film with a fun cast. In addition to those already mentioned, Henry Winkler shows up as the town mayor, and Lena Heady as a local bartender who looks like a potential love interest for Ulysses.
Is there a downside? Sure. One issue is that for all of the fun that Normal is, it’s not really anything more than fun. This isn’t going to change your life in any real way, and while there are certainly very memorable moments, there’s nothing here that is going to echo down through the ages in any way other than some spectacular deaths. It’s also worth saying that there’s a lot that happens here that feels a bit unsatisfying. People get killed suddenly and without any fanfare. Fine when these are unnamed characters, but this often happens to major characters—they’re just eliminated and everyone moves on. While this is probably closer to the real world, and shouldn’t actually be a criticism, it does play with expectations in a way that many will object to.
But I did have fun, and really, why else are you going to the theater to scrolling NetFlix? Isn’t this all about having fun?
Why to watch Normal: It’s fun.
Why not to watch: It’s not really anything more than just fun.
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