This week, I had the pleasure of attending the Baltimore premiere of a brand new offbeat rom-com known as The Baltimorons. The movie, totally set in Baltimore at Christmastime, has had town buzzing for 2 years as residents caught glimpses of actor and comic Michael Strassner, a Baltimore native, and Liz Larsen—identified for her roles as Jessica Reed on Legislation & Order and Bernie Madoff’s mistress in Madoff, and in a lot of Broadway productions—filming on the streets.
To place it plainly, the movie is magic—the sort that may solely occur when there’s a deeply trustworthy story being instructed over a backdrop that additionally, in some way, manages to inform its personal story on the identical time. Strassner and Larsen? Epic chemistry. Baltimore? Hardly a 3rd wheel, however a star in its personal proper.
A lot of the plot—a person’s battle with dependancy and wavering psychological well being—was pulled from Strassner’s personal life. The actor co-wrote the movie with director Jay Duplass (who bought to listen to from me, in a presumably barely intrusive second on Wednesday, that I’m, the truth is, his greatest fan—however that’s neither right here nor there).
Strassner has been as weak as his character, Cliff, in interviews main as much as the movie’s launch, opening up a few previous suicide try—a second recreated within the movie’s opening scene. Cliff is six months sober when he loses his tooth on Christmas Eve, and finally ends up spending your complete day with Didi (Larsen), the one dentist who will see him. A sequence of hilarious and inconvenient happenings end in his taking her to an improv occasion, the place he performs his skit, “The Baltimorons.” It’s not the one time within the movie when our metropolis’s endearing (cringe?) accents have been showcased.
It’s an offbeat love story, sure. However at its coronary heart, which it has a ton of, The Baltimorons is about resilience.
With that in thoughts, whereas there may be a lot that’s good in regards to the movie, Baltimore is undeniably the proper setting for it. In some methods, it virtually seems like a love letter to Attraction Metropolis—one which was, actually, overdue. It units the report straight about who, precisely, we’re.
As a result of, pay attention: We all know what you’ve heard, okay? We all know that, in the event you’ve by no means lived in Baltimore or spent actual time right here, you most likely get flashbacks from The Wire everytime you hear our metropolis’s identify talked about. However whereas the forty seventh president talks in regards to the metropolis’s “crime catastrophe” (ahem, violent crime is definitely method down), the movie manages to doc the Baltimore that locals know, love, and can gush about each time we’re given the chance (therefore, the movie—and this piece of writing).
A love letter to town
The reality? From the charming streets of Hampden, together with the magical, over-the-top vacation lights on thirty fourth Avenue (which make an look, as does a beloved tabby cat mural), to the Baltimore harbor—so far as handsome cities go, we’re up there. Like, method up. However don’t take heed to me. The film does a much better job of creating the case. In actual fact, it would simply change your thoughts (if not Trump’s).
Recognizable landmarks are loads within the movie, however one stands out above the remainder. What’s arguably essentially the most romantic second within the movie occurs beneath the glow of the now-collapsed Key Bridge.
The movie’s creators immortalized it (unknowingly on the time), as director Duplass instructed the gang after the premiere in a Q&A, finally due to Strassner’s insistence.
“He was like, ‘We now have to come back again right here, and we’ve to shoot beneath this bridge. It’s really vital,’” the director defined. “And we have been all exhausted. Half the crew had COVID by that time, however I trusted his instincts. . . . The truth that we have been in a position to memorialize that factor in an actual, real piece of artwork, it’s similar to a dream come true.”
However it’s not simply aesthetic magnificence that’s notable in Baltimorons. It’s additionally the spirit of Baltimore, which the characters oozed. Baltimore is essentially the most down-to-earth place you’ve by no means been. Strassner, who was born and bred right here, is a primary instance of that unpretentious, salt-of-the-earth vibe.
However Liz Larsen—who was born in Philly and instructed the gang, “I’ve at all times cherished Baltimore”—clearly understood the project, too. Her character feels so Baltimore, you possibly can simply think about she grew up in Dundalk or Highlandtown (and I say that with a lot love). In actual fact, she even made some native buddies throughout filming, embracing that “Hey, hon!” neighborly perspective we satisfaction ourselves on—in addition to Bergers cookies, these remarkably easy and unassuming but scrumptious treats that Larsen loved a lot, she began giving them out as presents.
In relation to the movie’s identify, I’m struggling to not use the phrase “good” as soon as extra. As a substitute, I’ll say that it’s astoundingly becoming. “Baltimorons” is one thing we name ourselves right here. As a result of, for starters, it’s far more enjoyable to say than “Baltimoreans.” It additionally just about sums up our self-deprecating vibe. Like Strassner instructed the gang this week: “That is who we’re”—whereas acknowledging that if he weren’t from right here, he’d “by no means identify a film Baltimorons.”
Both method, as a Baltimoron, I can say one factor is true: We’re in on the joke. We actually all have rat stickers on our bumpers, mmkay? We all know what individuals imagine—and we all know what’s really true about our metropolis, with all its kindness, quirkiness, and spirit.
And whereas the story of The Baltimorons is one in regards to the resilience of human beings, because the leads lean into hope and second possibilities, it’s unimaginable to overlook the resilience of Baltimore, flawlessly captured in a method solely locals may’ve seen coming.
