"A Legacy of Whining" is a terrific and off-beat comedy focused on midlife crisis, and it's served with a delightful slice of dark humor, loads of fantastic pop culture references, and uniquely colorful characters.

What we have here, ultimately, is a highly engaging buddy movie. Mitch is our whiner in question; he's a fifty-something aspiring actor, and is played with a dry and knowing sense of campiness and neurosis. Endearing, annoying, and manifesting pure retrograde nostalgia, Mitch is just neurotic enough to talk himself out of getting laid at a brothel. He's reacquainted with polar-opposite pal Dunc after thirty years, and off we go.

The engine of "A Legacy of Whining" is its highly engaging script; it brims with humorous dialogue clothed in sarcasm, self-deprecation, gags and one-liners. But that engine is fueled, too, with wistful truths for those of us from a bygone age stumbling through the transformations of a modern age - we ourselves don't really change, but the world sure does. It's in that vast and scary landscape that the big-hearted "A Legacy of Whining" bridges into social satire and delivers its truly unique impression.

I was in the mood for a fun, quirky sort of film and this little gem did not disappoint. A lot of us can relate to both the lead male actors. They did such a good job and had terrific chemistry. Their chemistry really worked for me. They played off each other well. I felt the film moved a long at a good pace and the story was fun! I was thoroughly entertained. Clearly two thumbs up from me!

Producer/director/writer/"actor"/soundtrack contributor and his reviewer friends would have you think so. From the first few lines of the plot summary I thought, maybe. Nope. 20 minutes in and I'm done and I think that's generous. Should have read the whole summary along with all the effusive reviews. That would have nailed it. Like a coffin. Instead, the quality of the screenplay following the dialog with the bit players in the opening scene was the exact opposite. Too bad, because the panhandler, hooker and chauffeur know their craft and deliver gold. I wanted more of that but the nausea introduced with Mitch's first few lines crept up unabated however, as Mitch's old-school buddy appears and they fade into the background. Then in contrast to Duncan's phoned-in performance, Munro's overacting really grates. But, I think this has potential and could be a work in progress. First, tighten up the dialog (maybe one of your reviewer friends could help with that). Then, hire a director, re-cast the lead or take some acting lessons (perhaps from one of the bit players). Then maybe you have something. Less is more, Mitch. Then get your friends to update their reviews to reflect reality.