Answers to Nothing

Starring Dane Cook, Elizabeth Mitchell and Julie Benz. Directed by Matthew Leutwyler. (R. 124 minutes. In theaters and Video on Demand today.)

Answers to Nothing  does just that, while populating the screen with beloved actors and making them pretty unlikable douches. The movie is going to be compared to Crash with its interweaving storylines that attempt to tackle the pain, heartbreak and life altering moments that impact each of the characters. But where Crash excelled in this, Answers to Nothing fails because of the simple fact that most of the characters are so selfish, broken and wrapped in their own delusions that it’s hard to not only identify with them but to root for them in any way.

First there’s Ryan, played by Dane Cook. He talks about this beautiful perfect love that his grandparents had, and yet he’s a selfish philanderer with Daddy issues. His girlfriend, Tara (Aja Volkman), seems to be only there as a vehicle for his destructive nature. His wife, Kate (Elizabeth Mitchell), is desperate to have a child she thinks they both want, even though the distance between them grows. And his mother (Barbara Hershey) may be the most deluded of them all as she waits for her husband who keeps coming up with excuses as to why he can’t come home from his nine-year jaunt to France.

Up next is Frankie (Julie Benz) the detective working a missing child case. Although she insists the person of interest (Greg Germann) is guilty, she’s the least aggressive interrogator ever, even flirting a little in between questioning, which is just awkward and hard to watch.

There’s also Drew (Miranda Bailey), a recovering alcoholic who has devoted her life to her disabled brother, though her parents constantly fight that decision, going so far as to take her to court for custody. They are probably the highlight of the movie, giving it heart, and heartbreak in equal parts.

And rounding out the characters are Carter (Mark Kelly), a  schoolteacher and frequent RPGer who obsesses over the missing child case; Allegra (Kali Hawk), a young black woman who hates to hate black people; Evan (Zach Gilford), a nice guy trying to help out a lost dog;  and Jerry (Erik Palladino), a young uniform doing his best on the beat.

The entwining of characters seems pointless and forced at time, since there is no real impact they’re making on each other, and seem only there to  add another character to the canvas. Kate is Frankie’s drinking buddy and Drew’s lawyer. Allegra is a patient of Ryan, who runs into Evan, while Evan works with Tara. Jerry lives in the same building as Carter.

The overall feel of the movie is gloom and doom, and the death of hope. It’s an overall depressing affair for all involved where “sometimes telling a lie is better than 100 truths” and after the 124 minutes a stiff drink is needed to wash the bad taste away.