Dark Horse follows Abe (Jordan Gelber)...a socially awkward thirty-something who still lives with his parents (the lovely Mia Farrow and the always reliable Christopher Walken.) When Abe meets Miranda (Selma Blair) at a wedding...it's love at first sight (at least for Abe.) They are both pathetic people so it makes sense that one may fall in love with the other. The film is directed by Todd Solondz, who despite an excellent cast and solid direction is too weird for his own good.
Solondz has made two of my favorite films-Welcome To The Dollhouse and Happiness. Here..I started to wonder how long Solondz can do the pathetic loser story without being completely unoriginal. There is still some originality left in Dark Horse. This is mostly due to Walken who steals every scene he's in as a father who wants what's best for his son but doesn't know how to express it. The main problem with the film is Abe. He is such an unappealing, lonely man that you begin to wonder why we are watching him and more importantly..why we should care.
The film kind of resembles a male version of Welcome To The Dollhouse. We have the inattentive parents, the awkward person dealing with insecurities and the plain weirdness and loneliness of the character. There is also an overlong take on It's A Wonderful Life in which Abe is shown his life through other people's eyes.
Being my favorite actor...I was glad to see Walken get a good amount of screen time and I enjoyed seeing Farrow on the big screen again. However...Dark Horse is the same old song and dance from Solondz. Soon...I would like to see something much different from this fine director.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is Not Rated)
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