Beauty and the Least: The Misadventures of Ben Banks

Få mig inte ens att börja på titeln… Anyway, here’s a little story from my memory bank before we dive into the film. Picture this: a summer in Ystad, me and my cousin spent hours at the local video rental. We would pick the most bizarre titles just for laughs. “Beauty and the Least” could’ve been straight from that pile, I think.

Okay, så filmen. It’s a comedy, though a bit uneven, about a slacker named Ben Banks, played by the charming Ben Banks—wait, no, Ben Banks is the character; it’s Ben Banks by name too, vilken grej! The movie meanders like a Stockholm stroll on a Sunday, pleasant but lacking real direction sometimes. Ben’s a photographer who, like most of us at 2 AM, can’t quite figure out life or love. There’s this laid-back vibe by director Bryce Clark, but sometimes it feels like he borrowed styles from a mid-90s rom-com. I mean, you’ve got a sort of Seth Green feel, men utan Seth Green himself.

Then we have Mischa Barton in there, who brings a little celeb sparkle to the mix. Remember “The O.C.”? She was everywhere once—kinda like träskoprinsessan på midsommar. But here, her talent feels a bit underused, like when you take your nice china out for a casual fika.

What I enjoyed? Truth be told, the quirky charm’s nice. I even caught myself smirking a few times, especially when Banks gets into his oddball escapades. And that lovely Utah backdrop—oh, it felt like a less rainy version of Skåne. But, it’s a film with a case of post-lunch dip; it struggles to find its footing every now and then.

Maybe it’s a glimpse of slacker life we can all relate to after a lazy summer’s day in Sweden. It’s not Bergman—men vilken överraskning, det är det inte heller alltid vi söker efter. Give it a watch if you’re in the mood for some light, maybe chuckle-worthy, cinema.

Check the trailer below