Will Forte plays along with his demented dad Bruce Dern’s false notion that Dern has won first prize in the Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes and joins the old man on a road trip from Montana to Nebraska to claim the million dollars. The subject matter should appeal to the On Golden Pond crowd; meanwhile, director Alexander Payne banks on outmoded black-and-white cinematography to reel in the hipsters. Payne is not a skilled enough filmmaker to manage the neat trick of simultaneously embracing and ridiculing his depthless midwesterners, and much of the film is colored by condescension. Worth seeing, if only as a reminder of both Dern’s ability to command a character and, more importantly, his long absence from feature parts, an absence we can probably blame on Hollywood ageism. Awards voters had best pencil in June Squibb, whose hammy one-note performance as Dern’s fusspot spouse is bound to be to their liking. With Bob Odenkirk and Stacey Keach. (2013) — Scott Marks
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