I have never been a huge fan of Will Ferrell. He was great on Saturday Night Live and has had some good comedies that people consider classics, but it has been a while. Recently, he has put out nothing but a constant stream of crap. It is just one unfunny movie after another and his schtick is getting old. You can see it wearing on audiences. So now with Downhill coming out, can he stop the bleeding and put out something decent? Once again, it is another dud. I just don’t understand this anymore. Downhill is a film that has a good core, but the pieces that make it up do not work together and the whole thing comes tumbling apart.
Downhill is a remake of a foreign film called Force Majeure which came out in 2014 and was nominated for an Oscar. It tells the story of a family on vacation in the French Alps. When an avalanche comes marching towards them, the father Pete (Will Ferrell) takes off and runs leaving his family on their own. When the dust clears, the family is still standing and the only thing damaged is the couple’s relationship. Just by describing it, the premise is very rich and just waiting for someone to take it in a good direction, which Force Majeure did. Downhill, an American version of the story, just seems to be too light with it. The question comes up then of “did this film even need to be remade in the first place?”. After seeing the final product, the answer is simply “no”. There is nothing added in this film of substance that improved the french version in any way. Even in the areas where there was room for improvement in the French version, the American version simply did worse. It is worth the risk to remake a good film, some of the best films ever made are remakes, but when you offer no real reason to justify the remake, it just looks like you are copying an idea.
What is the most frustrating thing about Downhill is its lack of direction and mishandling of the material. Jim Rash and Nat Faxon directed this film and it is the first film they have directed since The Way Way Back, a film that I adore. Unfortunately, it feels like they lost all that goodwill they had with that film. The worst part of this new film is their direction. You have this catalyst of an avalanche crushing this couple’s marriage and when it happens it just feels so insignificant. The event just happens quickly and then is over so abrupt that you wonder if it even happened. So when the tension rises within the couple’s relationship, you don’t buy it because it feels insignificant. All the other moments that happen along the way never become important either to at least reinforce the idea of this damaging event. As a result, we just become bored as an audience and wonder why this film exists at all.
The lack of direction spills into the casting as well. Julia Louis-Dreyfus gives this thing everything she’s got. I can feel the mounting frustration coming out of her. The anger she unleashes feels like when my mom would yell at me as a kid and you would want to do everything you could to make her happy again. She moves mountains to try and make this film work, but nobody is there to support her. Her co-star Will Ferrell is grossly miscast as the husband Pete. He just does not fit the role of this husband who made a big mistake and takes time to realize the consequences of his actions. He has historically been known for comedy and it hurts him here in this more dramatic role. He is really trying to bring emotion from the audience, but there were many times when the audience was laughing at him when that is not the reaction you want from them. It is yet another mishandling on the director’s part being unable to balance the tone. I just kept picturing someone like Steve Carrell in the same role and how much better he would’ve been. It is not to say Ferrell can’t get to those dramatic places, the directors just couldn’t draw that performance out of him.
Downhill at the end of the day is an underwhelming whimper of a movie. It has no reason to exist and wastes any chance to elevate the material beyond what the original had to offer. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is looking for anyone to give her support and no one lends a hand, especially Will Ferrell. I know he has a good dramatic turn in him, it just wasn’t this. You are better off seeking out Force Majeure instead of spending money on this pointless remake.
The Verdict