If someone told you of a movie starring Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Seymour Cassel, Harry Dean Stanton, Eva Mendes, Will Ferrell and Kris Kristofferson, you would probably be enticed. That’s a great cast.

Maybe, you’d figure, you hadn’t heard of the film because it hadn’t come out yet, or it was terrible and not well-advertised. Unfortunately, the latter would be the correct assumption.

The Wendell Baker Story, directed by the extremely well-connected Wilson brother Andrew, tells the story of a petty con man Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson) who’s thrust into a crossroads. Arrested over fake ID shenanigans, Baker leaves prison and attempts to start over.

Because this movie is wacky, Baker finds himself in a retirement hotel full of cute and eccentric old men. And because it’s also a morality tale, the people running the place are corrupt and vile. Baker, basically good at heart but full of guile, develops a friendship with the patrons and then hatches a plan to frame the criminal hoteliers.

Like a poor man’s Wes Anderson movie, Andrew Wilson throws everything he can think of onto the screen hoping something will stick and become quirky. Instead, The Wendell Baker Story feels forced and silly.

The characters are about as developed and human as cardboard. I guess being in the proximity of talent is not the same as having some.

Grade: D

The Wendell Baker Story is currently available.