The capacity for regular ol’ Americans to believe in deep-fried baloney is surely one of the great subjects of our glorious era. Lynn Shelton’s “Sword of Trust” flirts with this idea, in a disarmingly casual way.
Although she generally makes her movies (including “My Sister’s Sister” and “Touchy Feely”) within hailing distance of Puget Sound, Seattle native Shelton travels far afield for this one. Birmingham, Alabama, to be precise.
Here sits a pawnshop. Its owner, Mel, is sardonic, pragmatic and just barely tolerating all this. The role fits like a glove for the comedian (and celebrated podcast host) Marc Maron, who brings a splendidly rumpled humanity to his role.
Mel spends his days pricing items, jawboning with locals and enduring the internet-based conspiracy theories of his assistant, Nathaniel (Jon Bass). We sense that Mel is accustomed to dealing with nutbars.
So when two out-of-towners arrive at the shop, bearing a Confederate Army sword that allegedly proves the South actually won the Civil War, Mel takes it in stride. The visitors are Cynthia (Jillian Bell, from “Workaholics”), who inherited the sword from her grandfather, and her partner Mary (the wickedly precise Michaela Watkins).
Joining forces to find the market for such an artifact, this quartet stumbles into the netherworld of folks who carry on the dream of the Confederacy. That world is pitched somewhere between a fan convention and the Ku Klux Klan, and provides solid comedy along with a few moments of menace.
Shelton wrote the script with Mike O’Brien (the unsettling pizza guy in “Booksmart”), but a good chunk of the film — in Shelton’s customary style — was improvised by the actors. I assume this includes one of the movie’s best scenes, a not-so-funny encounter between Mel and his self-destructive ex, played by Shelton herself.
Bell and Watkins are accomplished comedy players, and the unfussy rapport they create seems very much in tune with Shelton’s gentle style. If anything “Sword of Trust” is so humane and low-key, it side-steps ripe possibilities for satire.
In the late going, some of those satirical notes are hit, thanks to the arrival of a potential sword-buyer (Dan Bakkedahl, from “Veep”). He comes across more like the smooth-talking pastor of a megachurch than a diehard Confederate crackpot; the latter duties are filled by his flunky, a true believer named Hog Jaws (Toby Huss).
Huss is one of those great character actors who always bring 150 percent to any role, no matter how small. When he bustles in to “Sword of Trust,” he gives the movie a needed charge, a jolt of electricity in the otherwise easy-going atmosphere.
The film’s laidback vibe doesn’t allow for a sharper satirical thrust, even if the subject matter is all but begging for it. Those soft edges keep this genial film from really taking off.
“Sword of Trust” (3 stars)
Marc Maron brings splendidly rumpled humanity to his role as a Birmingham pawnshop owner drawn into a daffy bidding war for a sword that allegedly proves the South won the Civil War. Lynn Shelton’s partly improvised comedy boasts a good cast and some funny moments, although its low-key vibe lacks the sharper satirical thrust that might’ve made it really take off.
Rating: R, for language
Friday Opening: SIFF Uptown
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