Dear Wendy(2005)- User Reviews

Ostensibly an exploration/ indictment of America's relationship with guns, this film falls far short of its potential.
Set in a mining town somewhere in America (most details are left ambiguous, presumably to make the story relatable), the film centers around Dick and his journey of self-discovery that is brought about by a gun he anthropomorphizes and forms a relationship with. When his hot-tempered miner father wants him to go to work in the mines, Dick is saved by their stubborn maid, Clarabelle, who deems him too "sensitive". Instead, she gets him a job at a supermarket.
When he buys a gun at a dime store, he thinks it's a toy. Years later (the chronology of the film is somewhat disjointed), a co-worker, Stevie, informs Dick that it is an antique handgun. A self-proclaimed "pacifist" (a term that is thrown around like confetti throughout the film), Dick is disgusted with himself for developing a sort of obsession with the gun. However, he and Stevie (also a burgeoning gun enthusiast) begin to take their guns to an abandoned mine to shoot them. Slowly they gather the rest of the misfits in town and build a kind of gang/gun club which they dub "The Dandies". All is well until the sheriff asks Dick to act as an unofficial parole officer to Clarabelle's grandson, Sebastian, who has recently shot someone in circumstances that are never explained. Clarabelle has, by this time, gotten quite old and senile, and is afraid to leave her house, but wants to visit her cousin. The Dandies take it upon themselves to escort her the two blocks in order to make her feel safe. However, things go wrong and Clarabelle ends up shooting a police officer. An overblown wild-West style showdown between The Dandies and the police ensues.

My problems with this film are myriad.
It is painfully obvious in what it's trying to accomplish, both aesthetically (quirky yet relatable fairy-tale style) and in its message (Americans love guns. if Americans have guns they will inevitably shoot other people. quit loving guns?). Note that I say "trying to accomplish" rather than "accomplishing". I knew what the projected message was before I even watched the film, but I was hoping it would be presented in a subtle, interesting way. No. Certainly not. I felt like I was sitting through a ham-handed first-year film student's project, just with more arrogance and a bigger budget.
The characters are flat and unlikeable. No character is fully fleshed out, but is more of a stereotypical abstraction of what "misfit" is supposed to mean. The set and characters work together to make the story flow like a poorly-rehearsed play. Dick, as the main character, is perhaps the most fully developed, but his reactions to things are unrealistic and illogical. That, coupled with his self-imposed victimhood, his petulance, and his Napoleon complex, make him boring and un-relatable. There are no emotions that feel real or complex enough to grab onto, and the few emotions that are presented feel out-of-context and affronting.
The plot is... frankly, ludicrous. Small town gun club, sure. A few misfits finding each other in an unfriendly environment, sure. A plot twist at the end, sure (though preferably a surprise twist - could do without the predictability). The way these elements are thrown together? NO.
I am offended on behalf of the characters for the simplified way in which they interact and come together - if you're going to create characters, at least have the bloody decency to give them their own distinct personalities! The "quirky oddball" archetype does not, by any means, require an amorphous blending of the characters into one category. The fact that they share an interest in guns is the ONLY identifying feature of ANY of them. Oh wait, one of them's black (And lo! he's the one who gets in legal trouble for shooting someone in what is implied to be gang-related circumstances! I repeat, HAM-HANDED.).
The ending was particularly disappointing. I was puzzled and bored the entire film, but was hoping it would straighten itself out and end well. But no. It ends with a gratuitous, laughably over-dramatic showdown over... what? A bag of coffee? An old lady who really, genuinely should just be in a home? An entirely arbitrary judgement Dick makes of the sheriff based on his gun?
Satire? Perhaps. Idiotic? Certainly.

Overall, a complete disappointment. The impact is less like that of a bullet to the chest and more like that of a 2x4 to the face.
If you want a film that explores America's relationship with guns in a smart, interesting, and truly impacting way, watch Gus Van Sant's Elephant.