Photo courtesy of Daddy W Productions

THE TALENT GIVEN US

In THE TALENT GIVEN US, writer and director Andrew Wagner documents the cross country road trip his family makes from New York to Los Angeles in order to reconnect with their estranged son. Who are the Wagners, you ask? Apparently, they are the perfect fit for today’s reality-infatuated media. Take one overbearing mother, two narcissistic sisters, and a mumbling father and you get the Wagner family at their best.

Why would anyone want to watch Andrew Wagner’s family travel across the country in a minivan? Your guess is as good as mine. At the center of this dysfunctional mess is his mother Judy. At best, she is an overly dramatic, argumentative nag who loves being the center of attention. She spends most of the trip bossing everyone around, complaining to her husband that she is sexually starved, and blurting out every inane thought that pops into her head.

The other two drama queens residing in the Wagner’s minivan are Andrew’s sisters Emily and Maggie. Maggie is the smart one who bails out of the minivan as soon as the Wagners reach Chicago. Emily, on the other hand, takes her role as a superficial LA actress way too seriously: she does yoga in gas station parking lots because she thinks her ass is spreading, she makes herself hyperventilate at the Menninger Institute in Kansas just to get attention, and she even throws a party for herself in LA when she decides not to have liposuction.

Apparently, the only sane member of Andrew’s family is his father Allen. Allen’s nonchalant manner of quietly coexisting in the madness created by his wife and daughters make him the most sympathetic and humorous character in this cast of misfits. He also seems to be the only person in the film capable of ignoring the camera – probably because he forgets the thing even exists.

Because Andrew films his family with hand held cameras as they trek across America, he almost tricks us into thinking we are watching a documentary. Yet, because these characters are Wagner’s actual family, you are never quite sure if what you are watching is real or if everyone is just acting for the camera. Strangely enough, this daring casting move is the very element that holds the film together while everything else around them is falling apart.

The person who is missing from the Wagner’s minivan is not really missing at all. Andrew is the man lurking behind the camera throughout the entire journey, recording every piece of emotional baggage the Wagners are carrying with them. Unfortunately, the real missing element in THE TALENT GIVEN US is a well-written script. Often, you will find yourself scratching your head in confusion when characters suddenly join or leave the road trip without any explanation, or when parents who drive to Los Angeles because they are afraid to fly suddenly have no problems flying back to New York.

Despite the lack of continuity in Andrew Wagner's storytelling, THE TALENT GIVEN US remains entertaining because the film itself starts to resemble the Wagners: over-the-top, confusing, and disorganized. In a way, watching the Wagners is like watching an extended home movie and waiting for a train wreck to happen. You know...maybe Andrew should have the Wagner's next adventure narrated by Tom Green during a tour of Ithaca College.