I saw the movie The D-Train with Jack Black and James Marsden earlier today. (Spoilers here--you've been warned.) The basic plot is that Jack is trying to get James to return to their hometown for their 20-year high school reunion. Jack is married to his high-school sweetheart, works a boring desk job, and has two kids. James, who's really a struggling actor in Hollywood, is a celebrity back in his hometown because he's been in a TV commercial and if Jack can convince him to return for the reunion, he'll look like a hero to his former classmates. Jack finds a way to finagle a trip to LA and he meets up with James and the reunion pitch goes into full swing. Jack and James hang out together and they end up in bed together. (In other words, Jack takes a ride on the D-Train.) Jack returns home with conflicted feelings about his homosexual hookup with James and the whole situation comes to a head when James returns for the reunion and the two men are forced to deal with the consequences of their actions.
This is not a comedy. In fact, I'm surprised it's being billed as one. It's a dark movie about the disappointment many of us face when our lives just haven't turned out the way we thought they would. It's also about people who are, sadly, still tormented by their high school years. It's a fascinating movie, but it's also hard to take at times. Yes, it ends on an uplifting note, but the journey is a difficult one. Jack Black and James Marsden are really great in the film and it would be nice to see them get the praise they deserve for their roles (although I have a feeling they won't).
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