Diagonaldi Very well executed

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Jay Harris What we have here is a shaggy dog story, crazy, improbable BUT eventually likable.I was ready to shut this off after about 20 or so minutes. I am glad I stuck with it.Luke Wilson wrote the screenplay, & he & brother Andrew directed.Good idea as Luke plays the lead role & it is not really good policy to direct yourself especially if you are doing the main character.The film was made in 2003,played in some festivals in 2005 & did have a very short run in no more than 17 theatres in 2007.They did not know or maybe even care how to market this.Running time of 99 minutes is too long, This is really only about a 75 minute movie with about 24 minutes of needless time consuming useless songs.I did wind up liking this because of the featured players.Kris Kristopherson, Seymour Cassell & Harry Dean Stanton, 3 of the best supporting actors,make their scenes alive with wonderful timing & pure enjoyment.Luke Wilson is fine in the lead,ably supported by his brother Owen Wilson,. They are not boisterous comics,& this is not the type of film for hysterical comedy. Will Ferrell is very good in a toned down role.Also well acted turns by Eddie Griffith & Jacob Vargas.We of course have a beautiful actress who pursues throughout.The last 40 minutes make the film worthwhile & that is why I am giving it a mild thumbs up.Ratings: ***(out of 4) 81 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

Polaris_DiB Most people know Owen Wilson. Many people know Luke Wilson. Few people are probably familiar with Andrew Wilson. He's the hand with the BB in it in The Royal Tenenbaums. He pops up from time to time in Anderson movies and other movies with the Wilsons in them. But maybe he's a bit more camera shy and doesn't want to be an image on the screen, so for the most part he hasn't followed the same path as his brothers. Now, apparently, he's directing. Cool! This is probably the hardest type of movie to review. Simply stated, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it isn't very good. The imagery is nice. The story is pleasant, but predictable. The humor I get, but it's kind of slow and isn't really memorable. Character development feels added as an after-thought, but at least it's there. It honestly feels like O Brother Where Art Thou? meets My Name is Earl without the skill of the former or the humor of the latter. It's a very non-specific movie, which is why I feel very non-specific about it.I'd state that as an entertainment medium, it's worth a rental, but that it probably won't be on shelves for long. In the meantime, Luke and Andrew Wilson show enough skill in directing that perhaps either or both of them can go on to make some much more interesting movies in the future. For now, though, I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone in particular as it doesn't really feel like it has much personality.--PolarisDiB

katzfilm-1 In the first reel of "The Wendell Baker Story" there are many exterior and interior shots of what I reckon to be a '54 Spartan Royal Mansion. The movie was set and shot in and around Austin Texas so the vintage mobile home sports Texas plates. It was nice to see the old bird under tow (by a mid-80s El Camino, I think) though it was distressing to see the leading man swing a golf club inside the coach (what I could see of the interior past a heavy, goofy set decoration, was definitely unrestored and kinda rough) and play for laughs the joke of his 9 iron crunching into and getting stuck in a birch wood ceiling panel. Even though the vintage coach in this movie wasn't a beautifully restored specimen (of which there are many available) or a vintage coach preserved in original condition, still it was thrilling to see a mid-fifties Spartan featured in the movie as a key set piece. What caused me to groan out loud in the theater was the leading man, with the exquisite curves of his Spartan Aircraft Company trailer fleshing out the near background,refer to it as an Airstream. To the production designer's (or art director's) credit, the movie was an ode to vintage aluminum, for also featured in this movie was a beautiful polished vintage twin beech aircraft, the progenitor of the airframe construction technique -- aluminum skin riveted to aluminum studs --used by Spartan Aircraft Co. to such great effect for more than forty years. And continuing the aluminum theme, in a much shorter appearance, a shiny Haliburton valise was used as a key prop.I don't know if this light and entertaining movie about a quirky character is still in release in your neighborhood, but I'd be a terrific DVD rental. Even if you are not a vintage trailer fan, take a look at this well made little picture.Spartanaciously, Michael Katz

Ragdoll31 This is the type of film that makes you feel good, no matter what mood you are in. Luke shines as the title character and he shows the world what he can really do. Owen is his golden self. His comedy and talent is evident and he proves he can do evil with comedy added. The chemistry between these two Texans's is evident as they light up the screen . The directing by Andrew and Luke Wilson is amazing and makes you wish you were there. They draw you into the film from the first second. Its a light hearted look at how your life can be turned around by various means. The Wilsons have struck gold with this wonderful tale. Full of love, comedy, triumph and a feel good factor. This film needs to be seen worldwide. To show how talented these Wilsons really are.