Movie Review: 'Rent A Pal' IFC Midnight as Midnight Movie Hit on Its Hands

Rent A Pal starring Wil Wheaton and Brian Landis Folkins is a trip. Set in 1990, this story about a man who rents himself a friend on a VHS tape has atmosphere for days and a pair of lead performances with electrifyingly weird intensity. Themes of loneliness, depression and mental illness linger like a hazy fog that rarely lifts. Moments of joy are punctuated by creeptastic moments of dark comedy and despair.

Brian Landis Folkins plays David. David’s days sort of run together. He is a caretaker for his elderly mother, Lucille (Kathleen Brady), who has dementia. His daily routine consists of cooking her meals and watching her favorite black and white movie, His Girl Friday all while Lucille thinks he’s her husband, David’s father, Frank. It’s not an easy existence but it is one David is mostly resigned to.

The only break from the norm is David’s attempt to meet a woman. David has begun using a video dating service. He’s not had much luck and one day, after seeming to strike out again, he decides to buy a bizarre tape from an out of the way rack in the video dating place. It’s called Rent A Pal and features the smiling and sweater wearing Andy (Wheaton), a benevolent looking soul who is eager to be your friend.

At home, David gets drunk and decides to play the tape of his new best friend. It’s strange and awkward but eventually, David begins to take to the odd rhythm of Andy’s banter. Though seemingly banal, there is an eerie quality to Andy whose job it is to anticipate and steer the direction of an unusual sort of conversation. Once David gives himself over to the experience and begins to memorize the tape, he actually begins to enjoy the preconceived interaction.

Then, the video dating company finally comes through and sets David up with a date. Her name is Lisa (Amy Rutledge) and she’s almost too good to be true. Lisa is a nurse and a volunteer at a nursing home. She loves that David cares for his mother, as he mentioned awkwardly in his dating profile tape, and she relates to him. Lisa loves Jazz and David’s late father was a Jazz musician. When they meet for their date, the connection grows quickly and David appears to be falling in love.

Unfortunately, when David goes to tell Andy about his big date, he finds that Andy isn’t as supportive as he’d expected. In fact, David’s best pal appears to feel hurt and betrayed by David’s new girlfriend. Andy goes on about her coming between them and passive aggressively begins to bully David into cancelling his second date. At this point you are wondering if something supernatural is going on. I won’t spoil anything by saying yes or no to that hint. You need to see Rent A Pal for yourself.

Rent A Pal is one terrific movie. Released by the IFC Midnight brand, the film has the feel of a great midnight movie with a dark sense of humor and a pair of lead performances that dial up the creepy to 11. That’s not to say that David isn’t sympathetic, indeed it’s hard not to feel for him. And yet, there is just an ineffable quality to David that you just can’t shake. He’s awkward and goony. He’s rumpled and dorky and not entirely pleasant in demeanor.

Caring for his ill mother gives David a sympathetic quality that makes him relatable and human. The same can be said of his pathetic qualities, his bad haircut and fashion sense. David evokes pity very easily and when it appears that Andy has begun to dominate or bully him, it’s hard not to feel protective. Nagging at the back of your mind however, is the inescapable notion that Andy may just be a guy on a tape and not some preternatural figure with a malevolent hold over David.

Rent A Pal was written, directed and produced by Jon Stevenson in his debut feature. A cinematographer by trade, Stevenson proved remarkably adept as a writer and director. Stevenson makes strong choices and never lets the story linger over points or meander into tedium. Early on, as David’s routine is established, you will need to be patient and let the story develop. You will be rewarded with a movie that grows in intensity and then finds another gear in an exceptional final act.

Rent A Pal is another of my favorite movies of 2020. I was riveted throughout and by the end, I was at rapt attention, twisting and turning in my seat as I watched the final moments play out. Rent A Pal ends in the only way it possibly could and the inevitable ending never feels forced or contrived. The execution is note perfect. Rent A Pal will be available for streaming rental from IFC Midnight on Friday, September 11th.