TEN STRANGERS WASTE A LUNCH HOUR IN THE 'PARK'

This is one of those small-budget, independent films that people either love or hate. It went pretty much unnoticed last year in theaters, and is only now starting to draw a cult following the cable movie channels. Personally, I think it just misses the mark because of an unimaginative script and some dreadful dialog spoken by characters that could have been far more interesting in the hands of a better writer. (First time director Kurt Voelker, whose last film was "Sweet November," also write the script.)

The plot focuses on the weird and crazy happenings during the span of one lunch hour in a secluded public park overlooking Los Angeles. (We locals recognize it as the old Baldwin Hills reservoir, on the west side of town, near Century City.). Ten strangers, most of whom have driven there separately for various purposes besides eating their sandwich, end up interacting and rethinking their lives in sort-of entertaining and poignant ways.

There is April (Dagney Kerr) who has decided to end it all after breaking up with her boy friend. Despite trying several creative ways, she is just inept enough not to be able to succeed at the task.

A few boulders away is Ian (Dave Fenner), the lovesick dog groomer who has driven his co-worker Krysta (Izabella Miko) to the park to confess his feelings for her, only to learn she has planned a rendezvous with Dennis (William Baldwin), an obnoxious CEO in the luxury SUV parked to the right. Dennis needs a dressed-up lover (French maid, of course) and a big car to cover his shortcomings.

Nearby, a van carries four twenty-something coworkers: Meredith (Anne Dudek) and Sheryl (Melanie Lynskey) are convinced that Babar (Maulik Pancholy) and Nathan (Trent Ford) are gay, and accompany them to the park to expose their secret, only to discover that the two men actually are nudists. After enduring some dreadfully contrived dialog designed to get the two women out of their clothes, the four of them finally are face to face sans clothes discussing their insecurities. Yawn.

An ensemble movie works well only if the cast members have good chemistry and can keep the audience entertained over the courses of many intertwining stories. At this point, I was just about to nod off when Peggy (Ricki Lake) and Claire (Cheri Oteri) drive into the park, intent on revenge against Dennis. Peggy is Dennis’s wife and is there to confirm her worst fears and then wreck havoc on him, his lover, and his prized SUV, which at that moment is rocking rhythmically on the overlook. They dress in Jay Leno and Ronald Regan masks, steal the lover’s clothes, and duct tape the car shut before taking out the sledgehammers and doing their worst to the Mercedes’s exterior.

"Park" is full of absurd humor, like when a frustrated April screams "Fuck-" is followed immediately by Krysta in the SUV with Dennis yelling, "-me!" Fast editing between each of the characters and their situations while the Carpenter’s “We’ve Only Just Begun” blares on the soundtrack behind is supposed to be funny but I think the moviegoer will to be laughing at the movie not with it.

Unfortunately, the last third of the movie drags even more, as the two losers April and Ian find love, Dennis drives off the cliff and gets thrown-up upon, and the nudists co-workers discover they have more in common than just a lack of clothes. The weirdest plot resolution occurs when Peggy realizes she never loved Dennis because she is a lesbian. In the final scene we see her walking into a bar filled with like-oriented women to try her luck with a different gender.

"Park" ultimately explores the quirks of humanity. Each of the characters contains a trait many can recognize in themselves. But the journey here is tedious that another writer and director may well have salvaged into a far more interesting film.