Lazy Susan – A One-Note Character Comedy

As many have probably noticed, that is Sean Hayes dressed as a woman on the poster. Maybe that’s unfair but Lazy Susan is pretty much over there. Having co-written the film, Hayes clearly cares for the character. However, the film provides no justification for it and this distraction makes it hard to focus on anything else it may have to offer. Those who can look past this will be treated to an extremely unlikable and thin character (made almost entirely of quirks) that the film wants us to have sympathy for without giving us any reason to do so (expect plenty of derivative moments to convince us that she’s just like us). Suffice it to say that any audiences who can’t get behind the lead character will probably not enjoy this one. What was surely meant to be a quirky comedy is definitely that though fails to be anything more than that which only gets tiresome fairly quickly. While the film may be short, clocking in with a running time of 90 minutes. it will certainly feel longer at times.

For anyone who hasn’t already figured it out, Lazy Susan was about a middle-aged cisgender woman named Susan (Hayes) who would best be described as a narcissist and a pathological liar. This lazy slacker who couldn’t keep a job got through most of her life by doing as little as possible while taking advantage of the people around her including her family and friends but this could only last so long. The beginning of the film saw Susan facing some hard times and her schtick was starting to wear thin and it will surely do the same with audiences. While her mother Mary (Margo Martindale) continued to support her as a mother would, her younger brother Cameron (Kiel Kennedy) saw her for what she was. However, Susan still had one friend left, a mother of three named Corrin (Carrie Aizley. also another co-writer of the film). Unfortunately for her, she was once again behind on her rent. Despite this, her life showed signs of turning around as Corrin entered the two of them in local talent snow and she met a jumpoline center owner named Phil (Jim Rash).

In the end, Lazy Susan wouldn’t be much of a film if everything went right for Susan so its ultimate trajectory shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone. The humor in all of that was surely supposed to be Susan being lazy since that is the film’s title and that’s pretty much it and it’s just about as funny as it sounds. As mentioned, we are supposed to care about Susan thought the fact that she’s so unlikeable as a character makes it nearly impossible to do so. Therefore, it’s also hard to buy into any supposed character arcs. The film may feature some redeemable moments, a decent soundtrack, and animated interludes between some scenes but they were few and far between.

Despite the mediocreness of it all, the acting in Lazy Susan was okay. While it is clear that Hayes has a connection to the character of Susan, he should not have played her. His low-energy performance didn’t do her any favors but regardless of how well-intentioned the film may or may not be, there’s no escaping the fact that she’s a man dressed up as a woman. Meanwhile, the film is elevated at times thanks to a pair of quality supporting performances from Martindale as Mary and Allison Janney as Susan’s friennemy Velvet for which their banter was admittedly somewhat entertaining.

At the end of the day, Lazy Susan is clearly a passion project but this quirky comedy is a one-note misfire.

*still courtesy of Shout Studios*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.