The Baltimorons (2025) review

Recently sober Cliff (Michael Strassner) and his fiancée Brittany (Olivia Luccardi) are planning on spending Christmas Eve with her family when he accidentally breaks a tooth and needs to get it fixed immediately, but the only dentist in all of Baltimore who's still open is Dr. Didi (Liz Larsen) - after she repairs it for him, a series of plot devices leads them to hanging out the rest of the day and night together.  Duplass and Strassner collaborated on the screenplay, which is based on Strassner's own life - including his struggles with alcohol, getting kicked out of the Groundlings comedy group and his attempted suicide - except the movie plays like a long personal therapy session, Cliff's incessant 'joking' around isn't exactly endearing and his supposedly "well-regarded" improv piece ("The Baltimorons") is embarrassingly bad.  Some viewers seem to think there's 'chemistry' between Cliff and the significantly older (and more educated) Didi, although that's largely due to Larsen's ability to show vulnerability and provide a little motherly discipline.  You know, Oedipus might have enjoyed a good crab cake....