Results is a shaggy character study with three great performances, but the film never really hooked me in to the drama around the characters.

Now, Results is a comedy as well, and there are certainly some funny bits throughout the picture, but I always felt a bit disconnected from what the characters were going through; they seemed to be going through the motions. All of the plot turns and developments don’t feel all that natural, even if a lot of the callbacks do feel clever. Part of me appreciates the thrown together feel of the film, but at the same time I found my attention waning at multiple junctures throughout the film. Something just never clicks. Maybe the film jumps around a little too loosely, maybe its hard to buy the relationships that come and go so easily among this trio at the top, but something kept me from fully embracing what the film was going for. Results is more accessible than Andrew Bujalski’s previous film, Computer Chess, but it isn’t nearly as interesting. I wasn’t head over heals for Chess like a lot of people, but I was never bored or disconnected from that weird world he threw up on the screen.

Even if I didn’t really connect with the film, the three principal actors are all very, very good. Cobie Smulders is a fiery presence and does so without turning in a “bitchy” performance. We get where she is coming from and believe her fierce outbursts and the way people react to them. You can see how these men fall for her, even if she has an intensity that might be off-putting to some. Guy Pearce is also great, sporting his native accent, as a new agey personal trainer who seems to struggle a bit running the in’s and out’s of his business. Pearce has a soft sensitivity to him that movies usually don’t prescribe to a type like Pearce in this film, and the earnestness he shows provides a lot of the film’s humor. I also love his relationship with his dog.

Kevin Corrigan might be the standout though, as a loser who falls into a ton of money and doesn’t know what to do with himself. His story is the silliest of the group, but he definitely provides the most laughs. Again, Bujalski flips the script on the rich asshole type and lets Corrigan play the role as a lower class guy happy to share his wealth. He is a peaceful and sort of sad guy just trying to find happiness, and while I am not entirely sure I believe his arc, I enjoyed many of the beats along the way. Anthony Michael Hall also pops up for a couple of scenes and steals every minute he is on screen.

Results is worth a watch if you are a fan of the actors or Bujalski’s previous efforts, or can roll with indie character studies. All the actors turn in great performances, and the film is more than watchable, but something kept me at an arm’s length from fully embracing the film. Still, worth watching once, but I don’t think I will ever need to see it again.