May 22--A charming, oddball new film takes on the question of just what sort of results clients and trainers hope to get from their workouts.
The romantic comedy "Results," written and directed by Andrew Bujalski, features three lonely people in Texas. Trevor (Guy Pearce) is a gym owner with a mission; his Power 4 Life studio means to improve clients' physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. Kat (Cobie Smulders), a demanding trainer, works for him, and they've had a relationship mostly based on sex. Into their super-fit world comes schlubby Danny (Kevin Corrigan), a newly wealthy, newly single guy who says he wants to learn to take a punch -- physical or mental, it's hard to know.
Kat can be unpleasant -- she stops her own run to confront a client eating a cupcake -- but she's effective, and she brags about the great reviews she gets from clients. But when she adds Danny, the professional lines get quickly blurred. Trevor, meanwhile, finds solace in his best pal, his dog and in his plans to expand Power 4 Life. His biggest potential investor? Danny, of course.
Going to the gym changes all of their lives -- in ways simple and complicated -- for the better. Any of these personalities could be unlikable, but none is. We end up rooting for all of them to get "Results."
The film, from Magnolia Pictures, opens June 5 at the Nuart in West Los Angeles.
mary.macvean@latimes.com
