For all that he's allowed himself to be typecast, for all of the irritating voices that he's leaned on, and for all of the questionable material that he's headlined (a category to which this film must unfortunately be added), there's something to be said for Sean William Scott. He may never stray too far from his star-making role as Stiffler in American Pie, but there's a disconcerting genuineness to him that allows him to comfortably fill in roles that most actors would stumble through even if written specifically for them. It's almost solely to his credit that American Loser works as well as it does (which is still only sporadically and weakly), or that the romance between his learning-disabled former alcoholic and Gretchen Mol is at all convincing. In fact, it almost works too well, exposing the other fallacies of Loser more nakedly than if it had not worked at all; namely, not knowing whether to try to distinguish itself from more popular romantic comedies, or to try to run with the pack.
Jeff (Sean William Scott) is afflicted with nearly every possible decision-impairing functional disorder short of outright schizophrenia, including alcoholism (he's approaching ten years dry at the start here), attention-deficit disorder, Tourette's syndrome, learning disability (a little vague), and balance impairment. Though this may sound to the casual observer like an individual suffering from debilitating handicaps, the film is comfortable enough writing him off as a mere incompetent buffoon (the film's original title wasTrainwreck: My Life as an Idiot, appropriately misspelled on its Imdb profile). He meets Lynn (Gretchen Mol), a woman whose apparent defining characteristic is her desire to marry a rich man so she doesn't have to work (a plan that she is carrying out at the time of their meeting). Though illicit, their relationship is mutually beneficial, inspiring both to attempt to improve themselves, with mixed to positive results.
At first glance, Jeff would seem to make an ideal romantic comedy protagonist, or at least one remarkably well-suited to ongoing trends in the genre. He only seems to shave when his parents take him out to dinner, his meagerest aspirations are frustrated by his own incompetence, and the different threads of his life couldn't be organized even with professional assistance. It'd be hard to count just how many male counterparts there are that that would sufficiently describe, but that seems to say more about the state of the genre than it does about Jeff, or Scott's portrayal of him. Just as women's accomplishments here are irrelevant without male companionship, men seem simply unable to accomplish anything without female guidance. But in the case of Jeff, who screws up so frequently and so profoundly (and spends a good deal of the film in group therapy), you'd like to think that he was exceptional, but he could easily slip into any number of roles that Seth Rogen or Michael Cera has played.
And therein lies the main problem with American Loser, which is that it never decides whether to approach Jeff with affection or disdain, and so frequently leans on genre conventions when the actual proceedings seem to invite horror. To his credit, Scott never makes Jeff an object of pity, or makes any attempt to preserve even the slightest veneer of his movie star persona, making him more believable and likeable than he would otherwise be, and making his relationship with Lynn significantly more believable. Aside from a few horrendously misjudged scenes (one in particular early on would be enough to ruin nearly any movie that it was in), their scenes actually register the affection that most romantic comedies aim for by striking for broad archetypes. It's unfortunate that they are wedged into a work that is barely able to register anything other than apathy (even when notable wing man Jeff Garlin is around), perplexity (there are numerous fantasies where Scott plays numerous people), or distaste (again, there's some really gross stuff), or isn't supremely confused about what its ultimate objectives are.
Bonus Features
There is a brief 'making-of' featurette, as well as a photo gallery.
"American Loser" is on sale September 27, 2011 and is rated R. Comedy. Written and directed by Tod Harrison Williams. Starring Gretchen Mol, Jeff Garlin, Sean William Scott.
