Andy Somebody Review

Andy Somebody follows the story of accountant Andy Fielder (Jeremy M. Evans) as he steals $3 million from his reprehensible boss and flees to Los Angeles, California. He works at a plastic surgeon’s office where two cops are staking out the place because the doctor has ties to crime. Dr. Shiflett (Jonathan Buckley) demands that Andy set up his bank accounts to not look like he is committing fraud as he is gaslighting a woman into getting surgery. He brings in his ex-CIA muscle Gene who is there to keep a watch over Andy, which is the breaking point for him. He transfers all his boss’s money, takes all the paper money in the safe, and escapes. Andy Somebody is directed by Jesse David Ing, co-written by himself and star Jeremy M. Evans, and stars Leslie Wong, Tim Parrish, David Forseth, Nicole I. Butler, Jacob Bruce, Franko Marcano, and James Heaney Jr.

We temporarily switch perspectives to his friend Joy Lee in Los Angeles who is looking for a story to write for her next novel. She wrote a book previously, a compilation of short stories, but now she needs something new. When Andy ropes her into his plan in Los Angeles, this wild adventure gives her the perfect story for her book. When this flip to Joy happened, I thought she was going to be crucial to the story, but this turns out to be a red herring. This section could easily have been axed to focus more on Andy and trim the film down even more. Both Andy and Joy had recently lost their fathers, but this parallel isn’t a sufficient reason to give her character more attention than necessary.

Andy’s Los Angeles journey leads him to a motel with a trigger-happy alcohol-drinking front desk manager, a roofer by day actor by night turned mobster, and a (mostly) silent janitor who acts as his righthand man during the second part of the film. His childhood friend Joy is primarily used as bait so the mobster can find Andy as Dr. Shiflett, his receptionist girlfriend, and Gene arrive in Los Angeles. Gene uses phone tracking to find the rest of the group at the motel, but they trick him, leading to the final showdown between Andy and Dr. Shiflett in an empty warehouse.

While the story is simple and cheesy, it stays relatively logical throughout. The motivations for the characters are rather uncomplicated, but there is its share of corny moments. I liked the use of real-life locations like the Cloud Gate, Wrigley Field, Capitol Records, and the Hollywood Sign; they were great additions, even if it was just for a few shots. The cop stakeout was a smart way to explain to the audience the background of the characters without having to do flashbacks or be wordy with the dialogue. For example, they explain how Andy’s dad died recently from a heart attack within one line so the audience can quickly re-contextualize the story. Essentially, Andy’s surprising actions were a way of exerting control over his life after tragedy struck. Overall, the direction is solid, save for a shot or two, though the story lacks depth. While it is no masterpiece, Andy Somebody isn’t a bad way to spend 83 minutes.