Off the Black

Off the Black **1/2

In baseball jargon, my research indicates that the phrase "off the black," or in some cases "painting the black," stands for a pitcher throwing the ball over the edge of the black. While this seems like a worthless introduction, I didn't know what it meant during the film-plus it gives me an excuse to use a cheesy little metaphor at the end of this review, which is always fun.

"Off the Black" comes close to being a little gem unseen by the masses, but it's extremely obvious. There is just nothing new here. The thing that ends up making it worth while in the end are the two lead actors, and not the script by James Ponsoldt. It's a feel good movie, and your standard father/son relationship film between two people that are not even close to being related. We've seen this type of story before, and the recycled plot is saved greatly by the two leading men. Newcomer Trevor Morgan is believable in his part, and actually gets into character instead of just sounding like he's reading right off the page. And it's just been a pleasure being able to watch Nick Nolte of late-the guy may have some demons in his past but when he is acting all your attention goes directly to him, forgetting anything that he did years ago. Between "Peaceful Warrior," "Clean," and now this, I can't decide which he is better in-they are all equally stunning performances. The acting is so good here that it's to the point where I can almost recommend it, but in the end it just isn't enough.

"Off the Black" begins with a baseball game, and the final out of the game at that. It turns out that this was the deciding game for the championship, and the last call by umpire Ray Cook costs the town the game. Ray is a loner who lives in a small little house, drinking his beer at night with his dog, and pretty much always keeping to himself. He prefers to be alone, and doesn't even tell anybody that he only has a few more months to go because of a problem with his prostate. As a result of costing the town the trophy, Ray understands that it'll be difficult for him to get into town, and even plans on a disguise if he needs anything, just until everything blows over. A second result is that he awakes in the middle of the night to find a small group of kids draping toilet paper over his house,and smashing and breaking the windows of his car. They only make it to one window before he catches one of them-the pitcher of the team himself, Dave Tibbel. Ray does not call the cops, and instead gives Dave a proposition. If he will clean up his entire landscape-yard and all-of all the toilet paper and broken glass, as well as find a way to repair the window of his car, he will let him go. Dave accepts, and is able to clean the yard of all the litter but he comes to a problem with finding a way to repair the car window. He doesn't have any money, and Ray doesn't care-he just wants his car fixed somehow. And so he offers Dave a second proposition. If Dave will pose as Ray's son for one night at Ray's high school reunion that'll be payment enough. Dave doesn't come from the best of homes. His mother left him and his sister, and his father doesn't seem willing to participate in anything around the house. Hesitate, Dave accepts Ray's proposal and the two of them set off to Ray's reunion-"father and son."

You can pretty much guess everything that is going to happen in the movie-from the blooming friendship between Ray and Dave to the comparisons between his time he spends with Ray to the time that he spends with his father in his broken home. Ray is rather open, and Dave finds out more about Ray's past from Ray than he finds out about the reasons why his mother left from his father. The reunion bit is somewhat interesting because it shows that some of the things Ray said were not true, which puts Dave into another mental situation-what can he believe, and how will he ever know what Ray is omitting? And then there is a final little scene towards the end that is extremely obvious-in movie world no friendship can ever have a happy ending-especially one between an older man and a younger boy. When the film is over, it's the obvious turns and plots in the script that make this an enjoyable thing to watch, but never fully satisfying. There is simply no plot at all, just characters that we've seen before acting as they have always in movies past. The school reunion is the closest thing that comes to a plot and that doesn't even pop up until halfway through the movie. The rest is contrived-the script writes about two dimensional people doing things because they are characters in a movie, and not people. Somehow though, Nolte and Morgan manage to transform these dull characters into people that you grow to care about. With a better script, "Off the Black" could have been a little gem in the art house world, but you could probably see what's playing in Theatre Two for a story with a little more originality.

As far as the supporting cast is concerned-Timothy Hutton does a great job as usual as Dave's father-man of little words who also likes to keep to himself. I never really saw it clear as to why Dave's father was the way he was. It was never clear if he was a good father when he was together with his wife and then he went off the deep end when she left, or if he was always rather negligent and the split with his wife just highlighted this attribute a little more. The same goes for the relationship between Ray and Debra, a woman that apparently comes to his house to cook dinner at times. Dave has a little bit of an "older woman' crush on her, and it's not difficult to see why. I couldn't figure out her significance in Ray's life, and how she just ends up popping into the film out of nowhere. Once again, she is not a real person but a standard and typical character. Everybody in here is shamefully underwritten, and there is only one person to blame. James Ponsoldt gets some great performances, but maybe he should try directing someone else's material, or giving it another go at something that comes from the heart. What didn't surprise me is learning that this is his first feature length film, having directed two short films in the past. He joins Joey Lauren Adams of "Come Early Morning" in the group of first time directors telling a story where nothing new happens. It seems that he wrote this with nothing better to do. Acting this good deserves a better script, and apparently Ponsoldt can't have to it both ways. "Off the Black" is barely off the black, indeed, but it is still a strike. Strike one. But my closing words to Ponsoldt is that there is always the second pitch.