Alpha Males Experiment (aka Knuckle Draggers)
It’s amazing that someone hasn’t made a “between the sexes” comedy called “Knuckle Draggers” before- it seems like a natural given guy’s sometimes-neanderthal behavior when it comes to dating.
In the case of this movie by writer-director Alex Ranarivelo, it’s also a pretty good description of the men in the movie in general. Especially in the case of Kyle (the main character’s brother, played by producer Paul J. Alessi), there’s almost a point of pride in taking dating back to the Stone Age when Ethan (Ross McCall) finds himself in a funk when his girlfriend of three years Heather (Jennifer Alden) leaves him. Why? He’s a “filmmaker” in L.A. and yet he’s not really bringing home the bacon, as it were. Kyle boils it down to caveman terms of hunter-gatherer. In theory, it’s certainly a valid hypothesis. In practice, it’s another story in particular.
Like Ethan, it’s hard for a viewer not to feel like Kyle is a complete tool. But the truth is, he does have a point. The trick is to figure out how to put his words into action. Patricia (Amie Barsky) has the right idea- this is why we men need to be talking to women about women more than we do our guy friends. Sorry my Yahoo bros 😀 although I’m sure some of them wouldn’t necessarily disagree with me there.
Ranarivelo’s film doesn’t take an easy way out or make an obvious move. Situations double back on one another, relationships don’t always end the way they begin, and the last thing you expect turns out to be what you should’ve seen coming all along. It’s an actor’s showcase in every way- none of the performances hit a wrong note, all of the characters hitting on some degree of truth. Don’t be too needy. Confidence is huge. Cheating is off limits- something Patricia’s man (a musician) learns the hard way, and layabout Russell (Omar Gooding) has to convince his working wife Renee (Danielle Nicolet) of when the men go to a party in the hills thrown by a friend. Admittedly, McCall’s hangdog act as Ethan feels a bit forced at times, but maybe I was just trying not to identify with it.
In the end, “Knuckle Draggers” could be seen as sort of a companion piece to Doug Liman’s cult fave “Swingers” in showing the ways guys help their friends how to get their groove back. The trick, though, is not to put much stock in what guys like Kyle or Vince Vaughn’s Trent say, and just find your own way. How else do you think Ethan’s MySpace date with assistant Erica (Sarah Laine) works out in such a surprising way in the end?
