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I won’t deny that I like romantic comedies, especially when they’re done well (which is very rare in the last decade or two). But one of the things that bugged me in most of the romantic comedies I have seen is that there’s always a guy who has to lose out so the hero can win.

Andre Dellamorte of the CHUD.com message boards really crystallized the problem with the “other guy” in all these films – if the guy our hero has to beat is too much of an asshole, you think that the girl was stupid for being with him. And if he’s too nice you don’t want the hero to win. So the guy who gets left behind – the Baxter, in the terminology of writer/director Michael Showalter – is usually just a schmuck, a schlub and possibly a host of other Yiddishisms.

The Baxter is Showalter’s debut as a feature writer and director, and he’s done a fairly serious 180 from what many of his fans might expect from him. He made his name with the absurdist comedy troupe The State, and then wrote and starred in the hilarious and demented Wet Hot American Summer, and now stars in the dadaist Comedy Central show Stella. But his film is completely different from all of that, a sly and sweet throwback to the films of the 30s and 40s. The touchstones here are Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder, names likely to be utterly unfamiliar to the vast majority of those who own Wet Hot American Summer on DVD.

It’s a tall order – those old comedies are very mannered and stylized, with lightning fast dialogue and humor that’s pretty much free of farting. But Showalter does well here, making a movie that maybe isn’t up to the ones he’s emulating, but certainly nothing that would shame the masters.

Showalter plays Elliott, a nebbishy (see, there were more Yiddishisms ahead) accountant who inexplicably finds himself engaged to a hot blonde. We know things aren’t going to work out – the movie opens with him being left at the altar – so the question becomes how long will it take him to realize that the mousy and cute new temp (an impossibly adorable Michelle Williams in the kind of role that makes you just fall in love with her) is the woman for him.

If you’re up for the conceit that this film, while set in modern day Brooklyn, will be done in the style of older comedies, you’ll find yourself swept up in a really enjoyable little movie. It’s a modest effort, and it’s not looking to get big belly laughs out of you, but it’s a funny and knowing variation on some very old themes. And it’s a testament to Showalter that he manages to make these old themes feel fresh and new.

Special mention must be made of the excellent cast Showalter has assembled. His usual buddies from The State get mostly third banana roles, but they’re not missed when someone like Peter Dinklage takes on the role of a prissy and snobbish wedding planner, or Paul Rudd shows up for a few minutes to quietly steal the film. I’ve mentioned Michelle Williams, but Elizabeth Banks as the woman who is all wrong for Elliott is another joy. The best supporting actor here, though, is Justin Theroux, playing the guy who would be the hero of the film if this was a straight romcom. He’s just a little bit arch, just a little bit ironic, and always great.

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting much with The Baxter. I hadn’t been all that impressed with Stella, and I worried Showalter would be doing more of the same here. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and after about ten minutes I found myself completely caught up with these characters and their world. The Baxter is an ideal date movie because it’s sweet, it’s funny and it doesn’t insult anyone’s intelligence.

8.6 out of 10