Meet Bill (2007)

Directed by: Bernie Goldman, Melisa Wallack | 93 minutes | drama, comedy | Actors: Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks, Logan Lerman, Holmes Osborne, Todd Louiso, Timothy Olyphant, Reed Diamond, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Andy Zou, Ana Lucasey, Constance Barron, Conor O’Farrell, Julia Pace Mitchell, John Lordan, Rick Edlund, Marisa Coughlan, Matt Thomas, Paul Goetz, Sarah Howard, Jason Cannon, Charlie Sherman, Brad Schmidt

What do Joe Black, John Doe, The Fockers, The Barkers, The Applegates, Dave, The Browns, The Feebles, The Spartans, The Parents and The Robinsons have in common? If you put ‘Meet’ in front of it, you have a film. We can now add ‘Meet Bill’ to this by no means exhaustive list. In this comedy, we meet one Bill, a chocolate-addicted bank manager who seems out of place in his job, his marriage and the rest of his life.

In ‘Meet Bill’ we meet not only the title character but also his wife, brother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, brother’s friend, wife’s lover, three annoying high school kids, a lingerie saleswoman, her best friend, a donut entrepreneur, her partner and a kid who fireworks trade. That’s quite a bit for an average length movie. What’s even more annoying is that none of these characters are really likeable or just captivating. The same goes for Bill, who is probably supposed to be a sympathetic loser, but here is somewhere between an oversized teenager and a village idiot. Aaron Eckhardt’s surprisingly mediocre performance as title hero doesn’t make it any better.

The story doesn’t want to cooperate. ‘Meet Bill’ consists of many sidelines with no real mainline, or it should be about the predictable character development of the main character. You certainly don’t want to think about how Bill ever ended up with his wife and in-laws. The humor department is even worse. Most of the jokes you can see coming from afar and the few nice jokes that remain look suspiciously familiar. And stunting with fireworks and hanging stoned from a climbing wall is more something you expect in a teen movie.

Fortunately, ‘Meet Bill’ contains two wise lessons, which are somewhat contradictory. The first lesson is that you should always go your own way. According to the second lesson, you have to do that with a good haircut, nice clothes and a slim body. Those who feel attracted to these gems of wisdom should give ‘Meet Bill’ a try. All other movie buffs better get to know John Doe, Joe Black, or any of those other characters who are so eager to meet us.