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==Plot==
==Plot==
[[New York]] journalist Ben Manalowitz unexpectedly receives a phone call from Ty Shaw informing him that his "girlfriend" Abby Shaw (in actuality just someone Ben hooked up with), has died of an apparent drug overdose. On Ty's request, Ben flies to Texas to attend the funeral and meets Abby's family: brother Ty, mother Sharon, sisters Paris and Kansas City, younger brother known as "El Stupido", and Granny Carole. Ty informs Ben that he suspects Abby was actually murdered, adamantly maintaining that she never took drugs, and asks Ben to accompany him to find the truth and avenge her. After conferring with his podcast producer Eloise, Ben elects to aid them as part of a story about grief and denial.
New York journalist Ben Manalowitz unexpectedly receives a phone call from Ty Shaw informing him that his "girlfriend" Abby Shaw (in actuality just someone Ben hooked up with), has died of an apparent drug overdose. On Ty's request, Ben flies to [[Texas]] to attend the funeral and meets Abby's family: brother Ty, mother Sharon, sisters Paris and Kansas City, younger brother known as "El Stupido", and Granny Carole. Ty informs Ben that he suspects Abby was actually murdered, adamantly maintaining that she never took drugs, and asks Ben to accompany him to find the truth and avenge her. After conferring with his podcast producer Eloise, Ben elects to aid them as part of a story about grief and denial.


Ben and Ty travel to the oil pumps to meet Ty's friend Crawl, who explains that parties often occur at the oil fields, that there is a spot just outside where the parties are normally held that is dubbed "the Afterparty", where dead bodies have been reported over time, and that there is a particular drug dealer named Sancholo who Ty suspects may have killed Abby. Ben later meets Quinten Sellers, an eccentric record producer who, like Ben, is an outsider and college-educated but has come to adopt Texas as his home. Quinten gives Ben a memory stick that has video and audio of Abby performing. Ben gets to know Abby more through these videos, learning about her family and her. He learns that "El Stupido's" real name is Mason, and about how much the family loved each other. Ben confronts Sancholo outside of a bar to discuss Abby's death, and Sancholo reveals he was in Tulsa on the night of Abby's death and reiterates Ty's belief that Abby was not a drug abuser. Ben later joins the Shaw family at a rodeo, where he accidentally draws the crowd's ire by expressing support for the [[Texas Longhorns]], when the crowd is overwhelmingly in favor of the [[Texas Tech Red Raiders]].
Ben and Ty travel to the oil pumps to meet Ty's friend Crawl, who explains that parties often occur at the oil fields, that there is a spot just outside where the parties are normally held that is dubbed "the Afterparty", where dead bodies have been reported over time, and that there is a particular drug dealer named Sancholo who Ty suspects may have killed Abby. Ben later meets Quinten Sellers, an eccentric record producer who, like Ben, is an outsider and college-educated but has come to adopt Texas as his home. Quinten gives Ben a memory stick that has video and audio of Abby performing. Ben gets to know Abby more through these videos, learning about her family and her. He learns that "El Stupido's" real name is Mason, and about how much the family loved each other. Ben confronts Sancholo outside of a bar to discuss Abby's death, and Sancholo reveals he was in Tulsa on the night of Abby's death and reiterates Ty's belief that Abby was not a drug abuser. Ben later joins the Shaw family at a rodeo, where he accidentally draws the crowd's ire by expressing support for the [[Texas Longhorns]], when the crowd is overwhelmingly in favor of the [[Texas Tech Red Raiders]].

Revision as of 20:19, 23 September 2022

Vengeance
Theatrical release poster
Directed byB. J. Novak
Written byB. J. Novak
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLyn Moncrief
Edited by
  • Andy Canny
  • Hilda Rasula
  • Plummy Tucker
Music byFinneas O'Connell
Production
companies
Distributed byFocus Features
Release dates
  • June 12, 2022 (2022-06-12) (Tribeca)
  • July 29, 2022 (2022-07-29) (United States)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.2 million[1]

Vengeance is a 2022 American black comedy film written and directed by B. J. Novak, in his directorial debut. It stars Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, and Ashton Kutcher. Jason Blum is a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner, and Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks are producers under their Divide/Conquer banner.

Vengeance had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 12, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 29, 2022, by Focus Features. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Plot

New York journalist Ben Manalowitz unexpectedly receives a phone call from Ty Shaw informing him that his "girlfriend" Abby Shaw (in actuality just someone Ben hooked up with), has died of an apparent drug overdose. On Ty's request, Ben flies to Texas to attend the funeral and meets Abby's family: brother Ty, mother Sharon, sisters Paris and Kansas City, younger brother known as "El Stupido", and Granny Carole. Ty informs Ben that he suspects Abby was actually murdered, adamantly maintaining that she never took drugs, and asks Ben to accompany him to find the truth and avenge her. After conferring with his podcast producer Eloise, Ben elects to aid them as part of a story about grief and denial.

Ben and Ty travel to the oil pumps to meet Ty's friend Crawl, who explains that parties often occur at the oil fields, that there is a spot just outside where the parties are normally held that is dubbed "the Afterparty", where dead bodies have been reported over time, and that there is a particular drug dealer named Sancholo who Ty suspects may have killed Abby. Ben later meets Quinten Sellers, an eccentric record producer who, like Ben, is an outsider and college-educated but has come to adopt Texas as his home. Quinten gives Ben a memory stick that has video and audio of Abby performing. Ben gets to know Abby more through these videos, learning about her family and her. He learns that "El Stupido's" real name is Mason, and about how much the family loved each other. Ben confronts Sancholo outside of a bar to discuss Abby's death, and Sancholo reveals he was in Tulsa on the night of Abby's death and reiterates Ty's belief that Abby was not a drug abuser. Ben later joins the Shaw family at a rodeo, where he accidentally draws the crowd's ire by expressing support for the Texas Longhorns, when the crowd is overwhelmingly in favor of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Ben speaks to law enforcement agencies in the area and learns that they each tend to shift responsibility of "the Afterparty" to another agency because it is in a spot where the jurisdictions overlap. While speaking with Eloise about the updated status of the show, Eloise informs Ben that the show will be previewed on NPR; his car then blows up. To his surprise, the whole Shaw family comes to see him and takes him to Whataburger for the first time. During dinner, Eloise tells Ben that the story is finished and to come home, much to Ben's dismay. When back inside, Granny lets slip that Abby was in fact a drug user, and that Ty had lied to Ben to try and get closer to her supposed boyfriend. Leaving the restaurant, Ben reveals that he was not close with Abby and Ty punches him in the stomach, and they leave separately.

While in bed, Mason mentions how Abby would speak in code with him, saying "1435" ("I love you mucho"). Enlightened, he uses that number to unlock Abby's phone. He sees someone else labeled "Ben" in her phone, and sees texts indicating that she was abandoned by this person. Armed with one of Ty's pistols, Ben rides with Mason to a party at the oil pumps. After learning that his car was blown up by Texas Tech fans from the rodeo, Ben meets with Ty and Quinten. When Quinten and Ben start speaking, they go back to Quinten's tent. Ben notices numerous packaged drugs that match the description given by one of the law enforcement officers, and sees an unconscious woman being dragged out of the tent. After turning off his main recorder, Ben elicits a confession from Quinten that he caused Abby to overdose and then dragged her to the Afterparty, where she later died. Ben pulls out his phone, which recorded the entire confession, and Quinten expands upon how there is more story that will be told, about how attention will be shifted to Ben, then to Abby's family. Ben executes Quinten on the spot. Upon returning to the Shaw house, Ben reconciles with Ty and deletes his recordings, electing to keep the story between the Shaws and himself.

Cast

Production

Between 2015 and 2018, B. J. Novak, who lives in Los Angeles, California, took several trips to Texas to do research for a film he wanted to write about a blue state podcaster who travels to a red state.[2] In March 2020, it was announced Novak would direct and star in the film, with Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, and Boyd Holbrook joining the cast.[3][4]

Principal photography began in Albuquerque, New Mexico in March 2020, but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] In January 2021, Isabella Amara joined the cast and production resumed that month.[6] In March 2021, J. Smith-Cameron and Lio Tipton joined the cast, with Focus Features set to distribute.[7][8]

Finneas O'Connell has composed the film score. Back Lot Music has released the soundtrack.

Release

Vengeance premiered on June 12, 2022, at the Tribeca Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on July 29, 2022.[9] After 49 days of the film's premiere in theaters, it was released on Peacock to stream exclusively on the platform.[10]

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Vengeance was released alongside DC League of Super-Pets, and was projected to gross around $2 million from 998 theaters on its opening weekend.[11] The film made $650,000 on its first day and a total of $1.8 million over the weekend, finishing 10th. Deadline Hollywood noted that while the amount was "not super," being a low-budget film that received a theatrical release would make it "more attractive and stand-out in a streaming and PVOD menu."[12] The film fell 60% to $720,000 in its second weekend.[13]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 144 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Writer-director-star B.J. Novak could have taken a sharper approach to this dark comedy's deeper themes, but if you're in the mood for a slyly smart mystery, Vengeance is yours."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak gave the film a 76% overall positive score, with 57% saying they would definitely recommend it.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Vengeance (2022)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  2. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (July 26, 2022). "B.J. Novak Went to Texas Looking for 'Vengeance' and Found America". New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  3. ^ McNary, Dave (March 14, 2020). "Blumhouse Suspends Production on B.J. Novak's 'Vengeance' Over Coronavirus". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Marc, Christopher (March 14, 2020). "Plot Details Revealed For New Blumhouse Thriller 'Vengeance'". HN Entertainment. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Kit, Borys (March 14, 2020). "Secret Blumhouse Thriller 'Vengeance' Suspends Production Over Coronavirus Concerns (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 6, 2021). "Isabella Amara Joins B.J. Novak And Blumhouse's 'Vengeance'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 4, 2021). "B.J. Novak's Blumhouse Movie 'Vengeance' Adds 'Succession's J. Smith-Cameron". Collider. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 10, 2021). "Analeigh Tipton Joins Blumhouse Thriller 'Vengeance' for Focus Features". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  9. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 10, 2022). "B.J. Novak's Feature Directorial Debut 'Vengeance' Sets Late Summer Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  10. ^ "Breaking News - "Vengeance" Streaming Now on Peacock - Directorial Debut from Writer and Star B.J. Novak Streaming Only on Peacock 49 Days After Theatrical Premiere | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  11. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (July 27, 2022). "Box Office: 'DC League of Super-Pets' to Overtake 'Nope' With $25 Million-Plus Debut". Variety. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  12. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 30, 2022). "'DC League Of Super-Pets' Fetches $23M Opening For Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 7, 2022). "'Bullet Train' Pulls Into Weekend Box Office Station With $30.1M Opening – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Vengeance (2022), Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved August 17, 2022
  15. ^ Vengeance Reviews, Metacritic, retrieved August 2, 2022
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