Review: ‘Reset’ is a self-indulgent mess
An unfulfilled writer decides to revise his whole life in “Reset,” an unpleasant exercise in self-indulgence directed and written by Paul Bojack.
Returning to his old neighborhood, the smug Floyd (Edward Deraney) attempts to make a clean break from his unsatisfying past by ducking his oppressing family and friends and reinventing himself as a different guy.
For the brand-new Floyd, life is an endless succession of sexual conquests with either much older or much younger women (or both, depending on the night of the week) in anonymous motels, alternating with mundane conversations with fresh acquaintances in seedy bars.
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Given the overriding air of misogyny and provocative button-pushing, “Reset” admittedly bears something of a resemblance to early Neil LaBute minus the controversial playwright’s dramatic sense and skill for developing interesting protagonists.
In the absence of those crucial components, the tedious, repetitive film plays out like a dark-edged, white-male fantasy in which the main character feels obligated to express each personal observation and rationalization behind his every move with intrusive, redundant voice-overs.
They’re called inner thoughts for a reason.
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“Reset.”
No MPAA rating.
Running time: 1 hour, 16 minutes.
Playing: Laemmle’s Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills.
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