Stop me if you've heard this one before. A lonely young kid
befriends a curmudgeonly neighbor and a bond develops that changes both of
their lives. A staple of coming-of-age films about identity and self-worth,
it's familiar because...well, it works. Tony McNamara's slightly offbeat
comedy Ashby provides a welcome twist on the
formula by adding a touch of hit-man violence and melodrama, but it's neither
funny or insightful enough to make a real impression.
Part of the reason Ashby is so forgettable
falls on the shoulders of star Nat Wolff, seemingly the new face of every
mediocre teen movie around. The Paper
Towns, Admission, and Behaving Badly (good lord that one was painful) star
plays Ed, a lonely kid who has just moved to a new neighborhood with his mom
(Sarah Silverman). She's out there in the dating scene, which makes for a few
awkward encounters, while Ed is trying to find out where he fits in at school.
An obvious outsider, Ed clicks immediately with fellow misfit Eloise (Emma
Roberts), who shares his opinion that "most people are idiots". She's obsessed with concussions and football players' brains, and even has an MRI in her house. He also makes friends with his next door neighbor, a surly, somewhat
ragged older gentleman named Ashby (Mickey Rourke). It's all part of an assignment
from Ed's snarky teacher to go out and meet someone with greater life
experience (read: old), but the two discover they have certain things in
common.
For one, both Ed and Ashby are unsure of
who they are in the world. It turns out that Ashby has a killer past, literally,
as a government assassin-for-hire. Now retired and diagnosed with a terminal
illness, he's coming to grips with the terrible things he did and trying to
make amends. Ashby's a smart kid but he secretly yearns to be popular, and he
quickly recognizes the only way to do that is football, which he happens to be
very good at. He's a wuss when it comes to getting hit, but otherwise it moves
him up the social ladder while confusing his relationship with Eloise.
Much of the film centers on Ed unwittingly
driving Ashby around so he can murder some double-crossing colleagues and the
violence are portrayed with a coldness that clashes with the film's generally
light tone. While Ed and Ashby's interactions are often bouncy and humorous,
Ashby's story is a somber one. The same can be said of Ed's relationship with
his estranged father who repeatedly neglects his son's needs. Ashby fills in
that paternal void to a degree, teaching the young kid the harsh reality that
people will always let you down. It's inevitable. 
So there's a lot going on, and McNamara
struggles to tie everything up while maintaining the film's generally airy
tone. Ashby's killings are often intercut with scenes of Ed's football
prowess or romantic pursuits, creating an odd whiplash emotional effect.
Silverman is sorely underused as Ed's needy mom, and that Roberts gets so
little screen time when she's at her adorable best is criminal. At this point
Rourke naturally exudes world-weariness and it works here as the tortured
former killer. Wolff, on the other hand, is always a notch too earnest in every
single scene. It's a recurring problem that has the effect of making his
performances blend together. Ashby is engaging enough, and features
strong performances by Rourke and Roberts, but it's not a film that will linger
on the mind for very long.
Rating: 3 out of 5
