Indie Gems: Passenger Side
Sibling bonding time. Michael (Adam Scott) is a writer who agrees to drive his brother, Tobey (Joel Bissonnette) around Los Angeles for the day to run errands. It's clear they haven't spent much time together recently. They find themselves taking a long look at their relationship as they go from one place to another, much to Michael's annoyance. When I first saw The Vicious Kind , which I raved about here many times, I loved it because it felt so different from what I had seen Adam Scott in. It turns out he's just had those dramatic performances hidden. Passenger Side doesn't match The Vicious Kind in greatness, but it does have one of the most realistic portrayals of sibling bonding I've seen in a long time. Tobey is very laid back, Michael is too uptight. Being forced into a shitty car for a day makes Michael in particular re-examine some things about his life. The film isn't without its flaws. Since it's essentially a "road trip&