Saving the day is Harrelson's low-key, rooted performance, adding an unexpected layer of poignancy when things take a decidedly darker turn.

The conviction in Harrelson's performance sells the movie -- he and his character are both unsung heroes who give their roles everything they've got.

Stebbings is more interested in deconstructing heroism than creating a concrete world, sapping the movie of the immediacy it needs to come alive. For all its aspirations, the film never meshes into something cohesive or substantial.

A pitch-black comedy that falls flat regardless of its potential