While the comedy “A.C.O.D.” does supply a good dose of laughter, there is not enough to make up for its lack of clear direction or theme.
“A.C.O.D.” follows Carter (Adam Scott), a restaurant owner and adult child of divorce – A.C.O.D. for short – who must make peace between his feuding, divorced parents (Catherine O’Hara and Richard Jenkins) because of his younger brother’s (Clark Duke) upcoming marriage. Along the way he also discovers that the woman he believed was his childhood therapist (Jane Lynch) was in fact studying him for a popular book on children of divorce.
The first half of the film transitions smoothly from one amusing scene to another. The opening scene, which features Carter’s parents hutling creative insults at each other while he unsuccessfully attempts to enjoy his ninth birthday party, is close to comedic perfection. Scott also makes Carter extremely likable despite his character’s control-freak nature.
However, the second half fails to satisfy and is not nearly as funny. The movie only briefly discusses the book Carter is in and additional plotlines are added like the affair his parents start despite now being married to other people. The film gets lost in the exploration of those numerous developments, most of which are not satisfactorily resolved. Carter’s fear of repeating his parents’ mistakes seems to partially come true and partially doesn’t when the film begins to question if his parents did make a mistake after all. Things become very messy. It seems as if the film no longer knows what it is trying to say or where it is going.
Almost all of the actors give hilarious performances and do their best with a flawed script. Scott plays a slightly awkward, slightly mean, but ultimately appealing lead. O’Hara and Jenkins characters’ provide laughs because of their cringe-worthy antics and general cluelessness. For example, they assume that because the parents of their younger son’s fiancee are Japanese American, they can’t speak fluent English. Lynch also plays a pushy, amusing and extremely believable psychologist.
Unfortunately, the film also underutilizes a few extremely talented members of the cast. Amy Poehler plays Carter’s stepmother, whom Carter mockingly refers to as “the contessa,” but only receives about 10 minutes of screen time. While she says a few funny things, her character is a glorified cameo and mostly spends time being slightly angry.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Carter’s girlfriend of four years, is also given little to work with as her character is never fully realized. The film also never offers a good reason why she and Carter are still together besides simple momentum.
Although the film fails to go into depth with some of its characters or plotlines, the film has an appealing overall presentation. The sets feature fashionable, modern furniture, and most of the characters are well dressed. The polished world the characters live in is a nice contrast to how confused and unhappy some of the characters are. The music, hopeful indie rock songs from artists like Dr. Dog and Okkervil River, also works nicely to help set more of a tone for the film.
Ultimately, “A.C.O.D.” is entertaining, simple fun that unfortunately is too confused about its purpose to have a clear message of any kind.