“Wilson” is an oddball of a movie, with very wide variations in tone and style. But with the main title character being playing by Woody Harrelson, it is not all bad. The character of Wilson is a free-spirited and determined guy, who tells what he sees as the truth. He has no filter or very many social skills. That is why he comes off as a rude and uncouth person to most everyone he meets.
Wilson (Harrelson) lives alone except for his dog, Pepper. He was married years ago, but Wilson and wife Pippi (Laura Dern) are divorced. He thinks she is a drug fiend and has never gotten any better. Wilson goes to see his father, but he is dying, and Wilson gets more upset with the world. When he comes back home, he hears that Pippi is back in town.
Wilson picks up his dog Pepper from the lady who took care of his dog while he was gone. Shelly (Judy Greer) lets Wilson know that she is always willing to take Pepper. Wilson goes to the place where Pippi is working. But his abrupt rudeness gets Pippi fired, so now Pippi stays with Wilson. She lets him know that years ago, when she left, she kept the baby. Wilson is shocked to hear that he has a daughter that was given up for adoption and has never met.
Wilson and Pippi go stalking on the teenage girl named Claire (Isabella Amara). They get introduced and they all spend some time with each other. Pippi gets invited over visit her sister Polly (Cheryl Hines). Polly was always the perfect one in the family, and now Wilson and Pippi convince Claire that she would be welcome as their ‘daughter’. Claire lies to her adopted parents as to where she is going to be for the weekend.
The homecoming and visit with Polly does not turn out very well for any of them. Claire’s parents find out that she is with Wilson and Pippi, and they say she was kidnapped. Polly gets the police involved and they arrest Wilson and Pippi. Wilson winds up in prison for long stretch. He is able to make enemies of the white supremacists and the Christian faith group. What a guy…
He eventually gets out and finds that he has lost Pippi and his dog Pepper. Shelly considers Wilson a sad soul who needs a friend, so she takes him in. It is a couple of years later and now Claire is older and can do what she wants. She was important in the case against Wilson earlier, but she was forced by her adopted parents to go against him.
Claire is about to move away and she will have a baby. Wilson still thinks he can be a part in her life, but she says no to that idea. Shelly and Wilson work out any differences and try to make the best of things. The story allows you to speculate on the future of the two of them.
Woody Harrelson plays his heart out to make you like this unlikable character. Wilson can be a total dick, yet he never sees how much of pain that he is in people’s lives. Laura Dern is a great addition to any move, and her she makes the best of a thin role. Her character is never given much in the way of any development or any growth, but Dern plays her with an honest sincerity.
Judy Greer and Cheryl Hines also get no real character development, and not a whole lot to do. They both could use a little better and more thought-out dialog on the screen. Isabella Amara as Claire does a nice job doing a role of typical angst-ridden teenager. She takes her plus-size weight and throws it into the basis on her character, and why she does not ‘fit in’.
If you are a total fan of Woody Harrelson, then this movie is for you. If you also have a soft spot for Laura Dern, then movie would be a fine recommendation. However, if you want characters that are not dripping with quirky sarcasm, then a different movie might be better for you. It takes the saying “To have a friend, you need to be a friend”, and it throws that away. Wilson has no friends, so you might not be one either…
