2005 / 91m - USA
Comedy, Romance
2.5*/5.0*
The Baxter poster

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June 01, 2020

2.5*/5.0*

A decent romcom from Showalter. He leaves the pure comedy behind to mix it up with a little romance, luckily his goofy and somewhat corny sense of humor is still there. It's also nice to see him get support from his entourage again, but the focus of this film remains very much on Showalter himself.

A "Baxter" is code for the type of guy who is left standing at the altar, while the bride reunites with her perfect groom just before committing to the worst mistake of her life. Showalter is a perfect Baxter and reversing the typical romcom narrative gives this film a bit of an edge, though ultimately the impact was less than I'd hoped.

Showalter and Williams make for a nice couple. The secondary cast is a little underused, but there are some familiar faces who each get their 5 minutes in the spotlight. There are some decent laughs, the romance works too, it's just the direction that feels a little stale at times. Not a bad film, but I think it had the potential to be better.