There are a myriad of performers who have garnered a substantial following thanks to random but memorable supporting performances, but very few who are routinely stylized enough prompt the invention of new words to describe their uniqueness. In the overwhelming majority of the films he appears in, Christopher Walken doesn't necessarily act; he \Walkenizes"" his way through his lines, giving them a nearly indescribable sense of eccentricity that has become his specialty. Whether he's proclaiming himself to be the anti-Christ in ""True Romance"" or emoting about the quality of Marie Callenders' pastries in ""Gigli,"" his Walkenizing creates a mesmerizing vibe of weirdness that is splendidly off-kilter. Occasionally though, Walken settles down and reminds us that he is one of the most talented actors of his generation.
Walken's superbly understated performance in ""Around the Bend,"" a middling, exceedingly generic family drama from rookie writer-director Jordan Roberts, is his first departure from Walkenizing since ""Catch Me If You Can."" Walken plays Turner, an ex-con who suddenly shows up at the doorstep of his son's house. Shortly after his arrival, his Kentucky Fried Chicken-loving father (Michael Caine) kicks the bucket and leaves a complicated will that involves scattering his ashes across the country. The rest of the flick concerns the road trip through the Southwest that Turner takes with his resentful son (Josh Lucas) and grandson (Jonah Bobo, an even more aggressively cute movie kid than Jonathan Lipnicki in ""Jerry Maguire"")-which involves a plethora of sentimental family rediscovery, an endless parade of forgettable country-pop hits, and whole hell of a lot of KFCs.
In fact, ""Around the Bend"" features the most intrusive, blatant product placement in a movie since the ten-hankie estrogen-fest ""Where the Heart Is."" That unabashed chick flick featured a knocked-up, poverty stricken Natalie Portman living in and inevitably giving birth in a Wal-Mart; ""Around the Bend"" similarly includes plot-centric product placement by making trips to KFC one of Caine's will requirements. ""Around the Bend,"" like ""Where the Heart Is,"" is a derivative genre picture that will only be remembered for its pervasive product placement.
It isn't that Roberts is a particularly bad writer or director; he lines up all the necessary genre ingredients capably and captures a rare subdued Walken, but doesn't infuse his film with energy or originality. His film, despite some funny scenes and a suitably bittersweet finale, is a prepackaged quirk-a-thon masquerading as offbeat independent cinema. It is mediocre entertainment too slight to hate, but it's frustrating and perplexing that Walken decided to take a hiatus from Walkenizing for this (maybe he told his agent he had a fever, and the only prescription was more fried chicken). This film is destined to be a tiny blip on his vast resume of bad movies (""Around the Bend"" stands high above many), neither a help nor a hindrance.
When all is said and done, Colonel Sanders is the only person who stands to profit from this uneven, unimpressive dramedy.
