Old Joy

"Old Joy" does get one part of its title right — the "old" part. Though it's well-intentioned and runs barely more than an hour, this slowly paced character study gets tiresome in a hurry.

In its own peculiar way, "Old Joy" appears to be filmmaker Kelly Reichardt's attempt to do a modern-day version of the 1981 art-house hit "My Dinner With Andre." However, the conversations in that film were witty and the characters interesting. Here they are kind of unpleasant, certainly not people you want to spend nearly 80 minutes with. In fact, one is a little creepy.

That would be Kurt, played by musician-turned-actor Will Oldham (also known in his recording career as Bonnie "Prince" Billy). He and longtime friend Mark (Jason London, from "Rent") are taking a weekend road trip in the Cascade Mountains. The two men are planning to camp out and then go to some relatively nearby hot springs.

But what hasn't been said yet is that it's probably the last trip they'll take together. Their lives are going in opposite directions. Mark is married and is starting a family, and they really don't have that much in common anymore.

In its favor, the film does feature some beautiful Oregon scenery and a good musical score (with some contributions from New York rockers Yo La Tengo), and the laid-back pacing is sort of refreshing. Or it would be if it meant we were spending time with two other characters.

Kurt is probably supposed to be a little odd, but as he's played by Oldham he comes across as rather unhinged, even a little sinister. Not that London's character of Mark is any better. He's such a whiner that you almost wish Kurt did have nefarious plans for him.

"Old Joy" is not rated but would probably receive an R for strong sexual profanity, drug content (marijuana use and references), and brief, full male nudity. Running time: 76 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com