PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 08/26/05)

You know that boring guy who gets left at the altar during the climactic scene of most romantic comedies, the one who's just about to say "I do" when the right guy comes barging through the chapel doors? Think Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story or Bill Pullman in Sleepless in Seattle. According to Michael Showalter (of the comedy troupe behind MTV's The State), guys like that are called "Baxters." There's a reason why they don't make movies about such characters, and that's precisely why Showalter and his Wet Hot American Summer buddies thought it might be funny to try.

In The Baxter, Showalter plays New York's most boring bachelor, Elliot Sherman, a stodgy tax accountant who lives by the motto, "Compromise is the key to success." Somehow, Elliott's managed to con the woman of his dreams (Elizabeth Banks) into marrying him, and the movie begins at the altar — with their breakup, of course. Elliot and Caroline couldn't be more wrong for each other: She's fun-loving, while he's a hopelessly square, straight-laced dullard who behaves like he spent the last 70 years in a cryogenic deep freeze. In the age of the metrosexual, he's the only one who still goes out wearing wool driving caps and sock garters.

Why would any audience possibly care about such a sad sack? This is the kind of guy whose friends debate whether he's gay behind his back, not a compelling romantic lead. Showalter might've had something if he'd cast Crispin Glover in the role, but instead he presents the character as a runaway sketch comedy routine. The tedium sets in as soon as it becomes clear that (a) a more interesting suitor (Justin Theroux) really is going to waltz away with Elliot's bride and (b) it's going to take the entire movie for Elliot to realize that the right girl for him is the mousy Michelle Williams.

Could there be anything more unpleasant than stalling to see if this loser finds true love? As coincidence would have it, Steve Carell's The 40-Year-Old Virgin spun comedy gold from a similar idea just last week. Virgin shares not only The Baxter's basic premise, but also two of its key cast members (Paul Rudd and the beautiful Ms. Banks), allowing audiences to see just how much better The Baxter might have been if Showalter had given us some reason to identify with his socially awkward protagonist. —Peter Debruge