It’s been eight years waiting for a follow-up from Phil Morrison, director of the wry Oscar-nominated drama “Junebug,” and now that the occasion’s finally arrived, he’s unfortunately faced with being the second Paul Rudd two-hander this year. “All Is Bright,” which premiered in April at Tribeca (under the awful title “Almost Christmas”), sees Rudd paired with Paul Giamatti and selling Christmas trees to resistant passers-by. Hilarious, right? Well, a new trailer has dropped, suggesting that the tone for the film is more “Bad Santa” than “Prince Avalanche.” So that’s something.
Fresh from a four-year stint in prison, Dennis (Giamatti) returns home to both a wife that told their daughter he died from cancer, and also the news that she’s seeing his former partner-in-crime, Rene (Rudd). A welcome-back greeting from hell, but one that Dennis must quickly overcome, as he attempts to go straight with Rene in his Brooklyn-based Christmas tree business, hoping not kill each other in the process. Admirers of Morrison’s first well-made film, we caught up with his second at Tribeca, but sadly found the comedy-drama to be “a lifeless affair and a big misfire” in our C-grade review.
Catch the trailer below (which does make the movie look kind of cute) and check out the new poster (via Hey U Guys), and see if Rudd and Giamatti’s chemistry will get your ticket regardless when “All Is Bright” opens on VOD September 20th and lands in theaters on October 4th.
