Is he or isn’t he the Shriver? Michael Shannon keeps you guessing throughout whether he is really the author of his one and only masterpiece of a novel. He is being wooed to be the honored guest at a dying ollege literary festival. Problem. But he dropped out of sight 20 years ago, never writing nor publishing again becoming the stuff of legends.
English professor and aspiring author Simone, (Kate Hudson) is trying hard to revive interest in and keep her university’s festival going, so she reaches out to who she thinks is the real author. Shriver is offered an all expense paid weekend where he’ll be wined and dined, showered with praise and put on a pedestal as this vaunted, mysterious figurehead of literary greatness. What she doesn’t know is that the name is right, but this may not be the guy.
The film, written and directed by Michael Maren, has a great cast of what appear might be, gullible characters. Based on the novel by Chris Belden, Shriver (Shannon) is the author of the hugely successful “The Goat Book.”
Simone contacts Shriver who is working as a janitor in a run down apartment building in New York City. His friend and drinking buddy, Lenny (Mark Boone Junior) talks him into accepting the invitation. Lenny is sure Shriver will be given a car. Shriver is awkward in every sense of the word. He barely speaks out loud, even when seated next to a fan on the plane on the way to the festival (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Not all writers are great speakers, so there’s really no way to tell if Shriver is on the level or not.
The members of the school’s literary fest committee all come up with clever quips. Don Johnson as T. Wasserman is especially gleeful playing the mischievous professor with a twinkle in his eye. He buddies up to Shriver as a drinking duo to find out what’s real or not. Johnson is hilarious riding around campus on a horse.
But it’s the wordplay and wisecracks between Hudson and Shannon, with the possibility of romance, that keep us curious. But then, the wealthy, lustful donor Dr. Bedrosian (Wendy Malick) who banks the festival and wants to bed the honored guest, makes her move. The scene was neither directed nor played well. It should have been the peak of the farce, but it fell flat.
Shannon keeps putting them all on making them think he’s the real guy. But there’s still plenty of doubt, especially when Zach Braff shows up telling everybody that he’s the real Shriver. So who is the imposter? It’s a question that even has Detective Karpas (Jimmi Simpson) wondering if there is a missing person.
Shannon acts like a ne’er do well and it’s frustrating to watch his behavior which keeps you guessing. Hudson as Simone keeps fighting for him while trying to keep him in line. She wants to believe him, but he keeps disappointing, until he suddenly writes and surprisingly delivers some handwritten eloquent prose. Where did that come from?
Director Maren creates curiosity about who the real Shriver is. We understand that production ceased for 400 days because of COVID. Shannon and Hudson, with Don Johnson keep things going, but the film feels so disjointed. Still wondering if Shannon’s Shriver is the real Shriver? So are we.
Saban Films 1 hour 40 minutes. R
