Douchebag is a 2010 independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 directed by Drake Doremus

Drake Doremus

Drake Doremus is a film director and screenwriter best known for directing the films Like Crazy which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Douchebag which was in Dramatic competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and Spooner .Doremus also taught at the Orange County...

. The film is a black comedy

Black comedy

A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...

 set in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, focusing on Thomas Nussbaum (Ben York Jones), his older brother Sam Nussbaum (Andrew Dickler) and Sam's fiancée Steph (Marguerite Moreau

Marguerite Moreau

Marguerite Moreau is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles on the television series Blossom, her role as Katie in the comedy cult film Wet Hot American Summer, and her role in The Mighty Ducks series of films...

).

Plot

Originally conceived on spring break in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, the title comes from a brief encounter with a New Orleans native Jared Calcagno. The film is a road movie

Road movie

A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...

 following the journey of Sam Nussbaum, his fiancee Steph, and Sam's younger brother Tom, an aspiring artist, to Los Angeles for Sam and Steph's wedding. The two brothers had not seen each other for two years prior to the journey and there is bad blood between them. Along the way they try to find Tom's fifth grade girlfriend.

Cast

• Andrew Dickler — Sam Nussbaum
• Ben York Jones — Thomas Nussbaum
• Marguerite Moreau
  Marguerite Moreau
  Marguerite Moreau is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles on the television series Blossom, her role as Katie in the comedy cult film Wet Hot American Summer, and her role in The Mighty Ducks series of films...
  
   — Steph
• Nicole Vicius - Mary Barger #2
• Amy Ferguson
  Amy Ferguson
  Amy Ferguson is an actress who appeared briefly as a character called Dana in a scene from the 2004 movie Garden State. The movie was written, directed and starred by Zach Braff, it also featured Natalie Portman. Ferguson is currently working on other projects. She was in the 2007 film Weapons and...
  
   - Sarah
• Wendi McLendon-Covey
  Wendi McLendon-Covey
  Wendi McLendon-Covey is an American actress, writer, producer and comedian. She is known for roles on television shows, such as Reno 911! and Rules of Engagement . She is also known for her role in the 2011 hit film Bridesmaids.-Personal life:McLendon-Covey was born Wendy Anne McLendon in...
  
   - Mary Barger #1
• Logan Vincent - Himself

Background

DoucheBag is Doremus' second feature. It was filmed in Santa Monica

Santa Mônica

Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...

, Palm Springs

Palm Springs

Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...

 and outside Doremus' father's house on the Newport Peninsula.

The film was an official selection for the 2010 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

. The success of the film at the festival led to it being picked up by distributor Red Dragon for a theatrical release in September 2010.

Critical reception

Variety

Variety (magazine)

Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

s Justin Chang opined that the film "often feels forced and unconvincing", though praising Dickler's film debut as "memorably repellent". Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

s Owen Gleiberman called it "a bubblingly sharp and fresh and dark and winning comedy". The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter

Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...

called it "a clever DIY comedy". Box Office was less complimentary, calling it "undistinguished, in the sense that its ideas and emotional payloads are both safe and small".

External links

• Official website
• Video interview with Drake Doremus, Andrew Dickler and Ben York Jones", Moving Pictures, retrieved 2010-08-27