Being an adult is hard. Relationships are hard. Making new friends is hard. Exercising and eating right is hard. Having big dreams is hard. But what we really want is the result. The thing at the end of all that hard work that makes it worthwhile. Sometimes getting to that point can be a little awkward and tricky though.
Trevor (Guy Pearce) is a personal trainer who runs his own fitness and wellness company called Power 4 Life. He truly believes that if you can dream of a reality you want, you can achieve it with some hard work. Kat (Cobie Smulders) is one of Trevor’s employed personal trainers, and also former girlfriend/love interest/occasional sex partner. Their relationship is obstinate and complicated. Then comes along Danny (Kevin Corrigan) a recently divorced that’s inherited a stack of money who is a little weird but wanting to try and get fit. What follows is an awkward love triangle between Trevor, Kat and Danny as they try to sort out their emotional and mental issues.
Director Andrew Bujalski is not well known to mainstream audiences, having only 4 indie films under his belt, Results is the most likely of his catalogue to possibly gain a blip of attention. Most of this is thanks in part to the cast, having secured two A-list names in Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders. And even though this film is billed as a rom-com, it’s nothing like the Hollywood fare we’re familiar with. The comedy is a lot more subtle and restrained, with the laughs measured and metred and delivered both visually and in dialogue. Like seeing Danny drooling over Kat’s derriere or Trevor repeatedly spouting his Power 4 Life mantras. And unlike other rom-coms the focus is more on the characters learning to accept themselves before they can move forward with their relationships rather than on the end game of the characters ending up together. Something that is far more realistic in today’s world of anxieties and over analysis of our selves.
I might be a little bias but I’ve always enjoyed Guy Pearce’s work and in this he once again nails his character. Probably because he once had a background in bodybuilding and still looks unbelievably fit, but I think it’s more his likeability just comes across as so natural. Bonus points for him getting to retain his Aussie accent in this film too. Cobie Smulders gets to step things up a notch as the high strung and hard line commitment-phobe trainer. It’s obvious that Kat wears the pants in their unconventional relationship and that’s how she likes it and this is a departure from Smulders’ best known role as the hapless Robin from How I Met Your Mother. Surprisingly though it’s Kevin Corrigan who manages to somehow captivate in his scenes. He’s the thorn between the two roses here, and it’s his borderline creepy and weird stoner like vibe that he emits almost the entire way through that brings something relatable and real into the mix of the hyper fit and gorgeous world of personal trainers. Supporting cast members Anthony Michael Hall channelling Dolph Lundgren as the kettle bell master Trevor is obsessed with and Giovanni Ribisi as Danny’s random lawyer friend may both be underutilised but do well with the time they have onscreen.
Whether we’re workaholics, or unable to properly express how we feel to the ones we love, or deeply lonely, all of these things divert us from the truth of how we achieve real happiness. And achieving that happy point is different for everyone, something Bujalski conveys in this film with a gentle care and consideration. Results is not your conventional rom com film because it portrays a reality we are all too familiar with. That these days all of us are hung up on someone or something.
Review Score: THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Running Time: 104 minutes
Results is screening as part of the Sydney Film Festival with another session on Sunday 14 June for more info or to purchase tickets click here.
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