Directed by Jay Duplass | Written by Duplass and Michael Strassner | 101min | ▲▲ | On VOD

The American independent cinematic cottage industry of the Duplass Brothers has largely missed me. I’ve seen both of them, Jay and Mark, in on-screen roles, mostly in association with the late, great Lynn Shelton, but don’t know too much of their directing or producing work. If this is representative, they have a lovely understated storytelling style. Maybe a little too understated.

It’s Christmas Eve. Screenwriter Strassner is Cliff, a Baltimore man moving his career toward finance since some bad nights, a suicide attempt, and alcoholism put an end to a life in stand-up comedy. He loses a tooth early on the 24th and the only dentist answering the phone is Didi (Liz Larsen), a spicy divorcee who wants to spend the holiday with her daughter and granddaughter.

The plot contrives ways for these two damaged souls to spend the day together, a la Planes, Trains & Automobiles, with maybe a touch of The Holdovers in its anti-sentimental Christmas movie stakes. It’s not as good as either, mind you, but it has a lived-in authenticity, largely due to the dedication of it’s two leads and an easygoing humour in the script. It also leans into its handheld camera which too often is a jerky distraction.

The Baltimorons provides a little time for us to see the city — and I love a picture that delivers on genuine location work, with a pleasant Vince Guaraldi-esque score of Christmas ditties on piano by Jordan Seigel to help sell the vibe. What it doesn’t have is a plausible romance. Strassner and Larsen are terrific and believable as two unlikely friends, brought together by circumstance and maybe a recognition of shared pain and kindness. What they do not have is any disernable heat. When the movie wants us to accept the possibility of an unlikely, almost intergenerational romance, that’s when it goes off the rails and never quite recovers.