By: Malasha Parker
Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film is a clunky ride filled with plants, unwashed sweaters and community bonding. While the movie has a quirky vibe and delivers a great message on responsibility and growth, it doesn’t have a smooth delivery. Though the jokes aren’t really funny and it provides a drawn out plot, Plantman & Blondie is a movie that brings a unique story about caring for plants. It’s more about making sure to nurture the things you bring into your life and understanding that plants are living things that need love and care as well.
Cory (Cort Loykasek) works for a marketing company that provides him no joy. He doomscrolls constantly on social media and has no food in his refrigerator. He’s in and out of Zoom calls and his boss (Kevin Nealon) is overly concerned about his bare wall background. He advises him to get a plant to go in the background to make his work appearance look better so Cory goes to a local nursery, the Echo Garden, to get a Fiddle Leaf Fig plant for his home. He takes it home, but leaves it in the car. While he’s back inside “working,” a man on a bike rides by and tells him he needs to get the plant out of the car and if he doesn’t he will come back and smash his window in order to rescue the plant.
One day while doomscrolling and driving, Cory hits the man on his bike. In order to make it up to him, they come up with the compromise that Corey will drive Donnyn [said man] (Donny Divanian) around for his errands. With this agreement in place Cory begins to notice that Donny is collecting plants from all the spots he’s stopping at and inquires about what Donny is doing. It turns out that he’s a horticultural crusader who saves plants from negligent owners. He and Cory start working together to rescue plants around the neighborhood. When they suddenly come up on the house of a woman that isn’t taking care of her plants, they decide to chase her house and take them. However, the person’s house turns out to be someone Cory is currently in the works of striking a deal with at work. They realize that this woman, Kate (Kate Berlant), just bought a Spotted Fiddle, so Cory tells the Donny and the Echo Garden crew that if they rescue the plant that they can sell it to a better home and get money to save the nursery that his company is trying to build a parking lot on. Therefore, they set out to rescue the fiddle and hijinx ensues.
Each character has their own unique vibe in this film that makes the audience question what is their actual deal and are they really doing this for good reasons. That only lasts for a little while and then the story begins to lull. Loykasek doesn’t bring much to his character but doom and gloom, even when things begin to pick up with the story. However, Donny is a character that carries mystery with him and even when the viewer feels like they can trust him and his mission, he still seems like he’s holding something back. One of the best parts of the movie is seeing people with different jobs and backgrounds form this bond by growing and rescuing plants. Berlanti brings the perfect out of touch businesswoman to the mix that fits right into the plot at the perfect moment.
Robb Boardman’s writing and directing seems to stay on subjects for longer than needed and doesn’t bring enough momentum to the story. The added plot of “The Plantman” being tracked down by a couple of men in the neighborhood who have had their plants stolen by him doesn’t really result in anything of substance. There are many scenes that just show events happening over time that also seem to provide more space holding rather than storytelling.
Overall, Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film delivers a fun sequence of events that introduces some issues a little too late into the movie. The purpose behind the main character’s motives is encouraging and helps the viewer realize that a small change can make a big difference in your life. Unfortunately, the interesting ensemble of characters, constant brand name dropping and references from Kirk (Kirk Fox) was not enough to make this movie a must watch.