Watch Don Verdean

Don Verdean is a 2015 comedy film starring Sam Rockwell as the eponymous character, Don Verdean. The movie opens with Don Verdean as a well-known biblical archaeologist traveling the country, giving speeches to packed crowds about his numerous successful finds over the years. However, Don's luck takes a turn for the worse when the Reverend Tony Lazarus, played by Danny McBride, hires him to find biblical artifacts to help save his struggling church.

Don quickly realizes that he is not going to find what he is looking for and decides to fake his findings to keep the money coming in from a demanding Lazarus. He enlists the help of his assistant, Boaz, played by Jemaine Clement, and discovers a new discovery to present to the church. However, things take a turn when Don's fake find starts to attract attention from a pair of Israeli government agents, played by Yoram Bauman and Will Forte, who suspect the archaeologist of grave robbing.

As the story moves forward, characters make some questionable decisions that lead to some truly bizarre moments of dialogue and action. There are themes of faith, greed, sinning teachers, underground biblical art heists, dream sequences, and even some good old-fashioned sword fights.

Amy Ryan, who plays Carol Jensen, a local museum curator, is a significant part of the story. Jensen is essentially the voice of reason throughout the movie and provides an element of reality to the events unfolding around her. The actress brings a lot to her character and does an excellent job making her personable and relatable.

The overall tone of the film is odd and quirky, but it has hints of serious and introspective moments. The movie is a satire about the business of finding and selling religious relics and how people profit off of people's faith. The film has a range of emotionally complex characters, from the extremely religious Reverend Lazarus to Boaz, who seems to lack morality.

The director, Jared Hess, who also directed Napoleon Dynamite, brings the same unique, off-kilter style, and sense of humor to this film. The director has a talent for taking ordinary characters and situations and turning them into something extraordinary, and he does that in Don Verdean.

The script was written by Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess, and it's clear that the team had a lot of fun with this film. The writing is clever and well thought out, providing moments of clarity amidst the absurdity.

Acting wise, Sam Rockwell carries the movie and is the glue that keeps everything together. His performance as Don Verdean is hilarious, but he manages to bring a level of emotional depth to his character. Jemaine Clement, who plays Boaz, brings his unique brand of humor to the table and is a standout character in the film.

In conclusion, Don Verdean is a hilarious and quirky film that satirizes religion and the people who profit off of it. The performances are top-notch, and the writing is clever and entertaining. The film is perfect for people who enjoy comedy with a side of social commentary.

Don Verdean is a 2015 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 36 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.4 and a MetaScore of 39.