Prince Avalanche

I have to be honest and say, Paul Rudd is not an actor i usually check out. Why ? Maybe because he usually do mostly american comedies , where you know what´s going to happen. Well there are some highlights, like This Is 40, This Is The End and of course Our Idiot Brother. He is not a bad actor, he just choose the wrong material sometimes, thankfully not as often as Kate Hudson. I will check him out in Anchorman 2 in the cinema soon, i am hoping it will be a worthy sequel to the classic first movie with Will Ferell. Prince Avalanche is actually an american remake of the icelandic movie Either Way. I have not seen the original movie yet, so i have no idea if it is good. Director David Gordon Brown is mostly famous for directing Pineapple Express, and the box office disaster Your Highness. With Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch ( who did an Amazing performance in Into The Wild ) on board, is this independent film something unique, or a blend production that does not give much at all ?

The year is 1988. Road worker Alvin ( Paul Rudd ) and his girlfriends brother Lance ( Emile Hirsch ) are painting stripes on the road, trying to follow a schedule. Alvin is trying to learn German language, because he plan to go to Germany with Lance´s sister. One day Alvin recive a letter from his girlfriend, where she says she wants to break up. Everything Alvin planned, and thought he would do is now a waste of time. He takes his anger out on Lance, trying to make him understand how bad he feels. Lance is also having a hard time, when he finds out he is going to be a father and he is not sure he is ready for this. Somewhere along this road work, Alvin and Lance find a way to deal with both of their situations.

Wow, i am shocked. This is the best performance i have ever seen Paul Rudd do, ever. When he let the anger out, we see a completely different side of this actor, i have never seen before. Some of the forest scenes are beautiful filmed, especially the water scene when Emile Hirsch goes for a swim in the dirty water. Emile Hirsch may not be as good as he was in Into The Wild ( if you have not seen this movie, go out and buy it ). But still, he does a really good performance as the confused young Lance, trying to understand life. The story is very simple, and maybe not very original, but the actors lift this story to a higher level than what it should have been. I recommend to check out the old Truck Driver, played by Lance LeGault, he is funny as hell. Always on the road with Moonshine to offer the boys some drinks, and always says what he thinks. Prince Avalanche is the kind of motion picture that the mainstream audience may not enjoy, but for us who like more original stories, this is worth checking out. Director David Gordon Brown have stepped away from the Hollywood industry to do something different, and i enjoy this. Maybe very slow in some scenes, but still Prince Avalanche delivers an accurate drama comedy, and the acting here is really good.

Rating: DDD