Another movie which may or may not have blown through theaters last year but I knew about it courtesy of Posehn’s now gone podcast Nerd Poker. For some, their tradition is Diehard or Gremlins, this one is more my pace.
Uncle Nick is about a family’s Christmas gathering set in Cleveland, to me, it’s more than Mistake on the Lake, it’s the American Capital of Hasbeenlandia, plus every person I ever met from there at Marquette was a douche or Marillion fanatic. The city is important because Nick’s narration about a famous baseball game is the framing device around what transforms into a familial disaster.
The title character, Uncle Nick, is the alcoholic older brother who runs the family’s landscaping business. He’s rather resentful of his younger brother Cody for several reasons: Cody married the wealthy, older Sophie; Sophie also divorced her husband of 21 years for Cody; Cody is lazy; and he contributes nothing towards their mother’s nursing home/care. Nick’s sister Michelle and brother-in-law Kevin are too financially strapped to help too. Adding to the boiling tension is Cody’s stepdaughter, 20-year-old Valerie. Nick has an unhealthy attraction to her and Valerie seems to enjoy the game of Lolita they’re playing.
Plenty of alcohol keeps being adding throughout the day and inevitably it all hits the fan after Nick’s family’s tradition on how they play the white elephant game. Is it funny? In a dark way. I could relate somewhat. My own biological family shares some of the resentment minus the drinking. The running joke about Kevin’s podcast was clever, I also know the sting of just sending out messages in a bottle no one gives a damn about. Posehn was the perfect comedian to play Nick. His stand-up persona is pretty close to the character: boorish, blunt and gross.
I’d say, give Uncle Nick a try, especially if you enjoy Posehn’s stand-up. It’s not a rapid-fire movie of jokes, it’s a slow boil and situational comedy. Missi Pyle, Paget Brewster and Scott Adsit are excellent supporting actor’s to Posehn’s starring turn.