PLOT: Two low-level drug dealers, Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Clark Duke), are “promoted” to an operation in Arkansas where they pose as apprentice park rangers under a veteran dealer (John Malkovich) who takes his orders from a local kingpin named Frog (Vince Vaughn).
REVIEW: Clark Duke’s ARKANSAS seems destined to be exactly the kind of movie I write up for my “best movie you never saw” column here at JoBlo. Before COVID-19, there were a few universal truths when it came to covering VOD movies, the most basic of which is that the bigger the star the worse the movie is. Those of us on the VOD beat know that when we see people like Bruce Willis or Robert De Niro attached, it’s best to steer clear, as had the move been any good at all, it probably would have gotten some kind of theatrical run. However, with cinemas closed the regular VOD rules have gone out the window and some real gems are showing up, largely unheralded.
One such movie is ARKANSAS. While hardly a sure thing at the box office, Vince Vaughn’s a big enough name that his involvement usually would be enough to at least get a movie some kind of festival play, and sure enough Clark Duke who makes his directorial debut here was supposed to bring this to SXSW last month, where I’m sure it would have killed. Instead, it’s getting unceremoniously dumped (I rented it on iTunes but I had to look for it – it didn’t even show up on the main page).
That’s too bad because ARKANSAS, while certainly owing more than a little to the early work of the Coen Bros (particularly BLOOD SIMPLE) and Quentin Tarantino, is a rock-solid little Neo-noir gangster flick with some outstanding acting. Clark Duke is mainly known for playing comic sidekicks, but his directorial aesthetic has a lot more edge to it than you’d think, with him adopting a non-linear narrative that jumps around and plays with the source material it's based on (a novel by John Brandon).
While ostensibly about Liam Hemsworth and Clark Duke’s Kyle and Swin and their misadventures in the drug trade, the film takes an unexpected detour about a quarter of the way in, jumping back thirty years to trace the origins of Vince Vaughn’s good ol’ boy drug lord, Frog. This turns out to be a great role for him, with his laid-back charm a perfect match for the deceptively easygoing dealer who, nevertheless, warns all potential employees that once they’re in, they can never quit, with their lives essentially his. Vaughn seems to love hamming it up, with Duke throwing in some fun riffs on eighties pop culture, including a bit where you see Vaughn enjoying THE TOXIC AVENGER with some of his cronies. Vaughn dominates the movie in these extended bits, which was a treat as based on the billing I assumed his role would be minor. Thankfully it’s not.
Hemsworth, who’s often been pegged as being wooden, is also impressive as the pragmatic, cynical Kyle. Much like Channing Tatum as his career began to take off, Hemsworth has clearly become a much more seasoned actor, and he seems at home here. His chemistry with Duke, who gives himself a meaty role as the fast-talking Swin, is top-notch, paying off in the film’s surprisingly emotional conclusion. Eden Brolin co-stars as Swin’s townie love interest, although John Malkovich’s role is disappointingly minor given how much fun he seems to be having as a southern gangster.
Duke’s skill behind the camera is considerable, with him making some smart choices, such as the decision to use a slightly softer visual style to distinguish between the parts set in the eighties/nineties and the present day. Best of all is the excellent soundtrack, with the score by Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson echoing Ennio Morricone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, while all of the film’s songs are covers of country classics by The Flaming Lips (who also cameo).
While ARKANSAS might rightfully be criticized as being a bit derivative, it’s nonetheless skillfully made by Duke, with the focus on the Dixie Mafia a fresh choice for an underworld tale. It’s another strong vehicle for Vaughn, with the role outwardly similar to the one he played in the much derived second season of “True Detective”, although here his natural charm is given more of an opportunity to shine through. I liked this one a lot.