The Wendell Baker Story

5.5
2005 1 hr 39 min Drama , Comedy , Romance

Luke Wilson plays a good-hearted ex-con who gets a job in a retirement hotel. Three elderly residents help him win back his girlfriend as he lends them a hand in fighting hotel corruption.

  • Cast:
    Luke Wilson , Eva Mendes , Jacob Vargas , Owen Wilson , Kris Kristofferson , Harry Dean Stanton , Seymour Cassel

Similar titles

2nd Serve
2nd Serve
(Long Synopsis) "When former tennis pro Owen “Game Set” Match gets fired from his cushy job instructing at the affluent Fountain Club, he’s forced to take a position at the gritty public courts of the Derby City Recreation Center. There he contends with his new co-workers, a ragtag group of tennis pro misfits; his boss Sherry, a strong-willed, single mother; and her son Jake, a goth teenager and secret tennis hopeful. Slowly Owen begins to win over his colleagues, mend his broken friendships and help Jake fix his serve … and develops a romantic connection with Sherry, despite her insistence that she doesn't date tennis pros. Just when things seem to be looking up, Owen’s former boss and court nemesis challenges the Derby City club to a showdown in the annual Combo Cup tennis tournament. As he leads his team of oddball amateurs, Owen learns the most valuable lesson of all … On the court or off, everyone deserves a second chance!"
2nd Serve 2012
A Perfect Life
A Perfect Life
(Long Synopsis) "In this sexy, urban psychological-thriller, handsome Andrew Walters (Johan Earl) leads A Perfect Life, with a high-powered career as a corporate executive and his adoring, beautiful, blonde wife, Helen (Heidi Houghting), by his side. But Andrew lives a parallel existence that Helen knows nothing about and not since Fatal Attraction has an extra-marital affair gone so terribly wrong. When Rachel (Amelia Kaldor) decides she’s no longer happy as the other woman and that their relationship has no future, she plots a deadly, heart-stopping “game” of truth-or-dare in which she makes all the rules. Also starring Joe Estevez and Belinda Gosbee."
A Perfect Life 2011
Gandhi
Gandhi
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
Gandhi 1982
X
X
A brief encounter causes one man to reflect on the monumental impact that an 'ex' has had on his life...but whilst living with a broken heart & a cynical worldview, can the man rediscover his once sentimental soul and reconnect with the notion that “all you need is love”?
X 2021
concrete_savanna
concrete_savanna
With barely any money and living out of her car, struggling travel vlogger Savanna Mills (Sarah Hitzel) is willing to do anything for fame and fortune no matter how dark or twisted. In her desperation, she seduces a drug addict into a dark ritual. Suddenly her luck changes and she lands a talent agent who wants her to expand her social media following and transition her into film and television. All seems to be going well until the disturbing visions she's struggled with since childhood return, forcing her down an even darker path. Can Savanna's luck continue or will her past catch up to her and destroy her dream of success?
concrete_savanna 2021
Paranoid Park
Paranoid Park
A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".
Paranoid Park 2008
Man with the Screaming Brain
Man with the Screaming Brain
The brains of a Russian taxi driver and a wealthy businessman are brought together in one body by a mad scientist.
Man with the Screaming Brain 2005

Reviews

Hellen
2005/08/03

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

... more
Pluskylang
2005/08/04

Great Film overall

... more
Abbigail Bush
2005/08/05

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

... more
Mandeep Tyson
2005/08/06

The acting in this movie is really good.

... more
merklekranz
2005/08/07

"The Wendell Baker Story" has a couple of giggles, but you would expect a lot more from a cast like this. Seymour Cassel and Harry Dean Stanton provide the most interesting characters, with their small parts. Kris Kristofferson is also quite good, but the Wilsons and Eva Mendes are totally unappealing. The movie really tries to accomplish way too much, and the chop shop editing is downright annoying. Is it a comedy, or a romance, or a drama? I give up and so will you, because in the end, it all adds up to very little. Skip this one and you won't be missing much, other than a pretty fair soundtrack. ............................................ MERK

... more
Polaris_DiB
2005/08/08

Most people know Owen Wilson. Many people know Luke Wilson. Few people are probably familiar with Andrew Wilson. He's the hand with the BB in it in The Royal Tenenbaums. He pops up from time to time in Anderson movies and other movies with the Wilsons in them. But maybe he's a bit more camera shy and doesn't want to be an image on the screen, so for the most part he hasn't followed the same path as his brothers. Now, apparently, he's directing. Cool! This is probably the hardest type of movie to review. Simply stated, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it isn't very good. The imagery is nice. The story is pleasant, but predictable. The humor I get, but it's kind of slow and isn't really memorable. Character development feels added as an after-thought, but at least it's there. It honestly feels like O Brother Where Art Thou? meets My Name is Earl without the skill of the former or the humor of the latter. It's a very non-specific movie, which is why I feel very non-specific about it.I'd state that as an entertainment medium, it's worth a rental, but that it probably won't be on shelves for long. In the meantime, Luke and Andrew Wilson show enough skill in directing that perhaps either or both of them can go on to make some much more interesting movies in the future. For now, though, I wouldn't really recommend this movie to anyone in particular as it doesn't really feel like it has much personality.--PolarisDiB

... more
dustinhunter707
2005/08/09

OK now I have always liked Luke and Owen Wilson as well as many other stars in this film such as Eddie Griffin, Eva Mendes, Kris Kristofferson, and Will Ferrell but for some reason this movie wasn't funny at all. It was more dramatic and from the looks of the trailer, I was expecting a comedy with several laughs since it starred Luke and Owen Wilson, but I only laughed like twice the whole movie and I was expecting to laugh way more. It kind of tells the life of Wendell Baker, but it really fails to make anything about his life funny like they should have. Overall I give this a 4 out of 10 because I was expecting a comedy, not a drama. I wouldn't recommend this to comedy fans, but if you are looking for something different and you are a Luke Wilson fan then you may like this, but i'm not sure because I am a Luke Wilson fan and I didn't even like this one.

... more
Bruce Burns
2005/08/10

I'm supposed to like "The Wendell Baker Story". From having lived in the Austin area for the last 27 years and in Austin proper for the last 11, I recognized most of the locales in the film. Plus, I went to the University of Texas at the same time the Wilson brothers did (along with Matthew McConaughey & Renee Zellweger). I will freely admit that I like brother Owen's screenplays directed by Wes Anderson ("Bottle Rocket", "Rushmore", "The Royal Tennenbaums"). And Luke Wilson--as both writer and director--attempts to emulate the Owen/Wes style in this movie. Unfortunately, his skills as a writer don't match his brother's, and as a director he seems grossly incompetent. And as lead actor, he--as always--gets by on his good looks and Texas accent rather than any discernible talent.The story is about Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson), a huckster who gets arrested for forging fake id's for illegal aliens. After he gets out of jail, he finds that his girlfriend Doreen (Eva Mendes) has dumped him and most of his friends want nothing more to do with him. While Wendell was in jail, he studied the hotel business, and that lands him a job in a retirement home run by the evil Neil King (Owen Wilson) and his henchman McTeague (Eddie Griffin). It's not much of a spoiler to say that Wendell saves the day, wins back Doreen and makes a few quirky friends along the way. But I won't give any details as to how this is accomplished.Like "Rushmore", this is very much a story about a misfit who doesn't get that he's a misfit. Also, like Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, the film is peppered with really great--if somewhat obscure--songs from a bygone era. But whereas Owen and Wes opt for British pop music from the 1960's, Luke prefers Texas Outlaw country music from the 1970's. He even casts Kris Kristofferson in a key role and Billy Joe Shaver in a small role. Between the two of them, they wrote nearly half the country hits between 1969 and 1980.Also unlike Owen Wilson, whose characters are funny, quirky and sad, Wilson's characters are merely quirky. And unlike Wes Anderson, Luke doesn't know how to properly set up a shot or light an indoor set. Most of the indoor scenes are dramatically under-lit. Often, the sun coming through a window will render a character's arm or stomach visible, but the head will be shrouded in darkness. This would work well if this were a film noir, but given that this is supposed to be a feel-good comedy, I have to assume this was not intentional. It is a real problem in the scenes that Owen and Luke have together, since the only physical difference between the two is their hair color.I also need to say that the acting--except for the notable exception of Will Ferrell making the most of a small part--is mediocre at best. Luke Wilson has always been one of the blandest actors in Hollywood. Owen is a talented actor, but not here. Eddie Griffin is truly awful. Although Eva Mendes is pretty to look at, she's not much of an actress. And it's really saying something when I mention that Luke can't wring a good performance out of Harry Dean Stanton or Seymour Cassel.There are things that I liked about this movie. I have already mentioned the soundtrack and Will Ferrell's performance. I also give Wilson props for filming in North Central Austin (where I once lived and still frequent) instead of the usual haunts of UT, downtown and South Austin (seen in "Slacker", "The Life of David Gale" and "Grindhouse") where I rarely have any reason for going.Overall, I would have to say this movie was done by an enthusiastic but talentless amateur trying too hard to step out of his more-talented brother's shadow. But for Will Ferrell, I would have given this 5 out of 10. But Ferrell is so good, I will give it an extra star.

... more

Watch Free Now