"I don't understand you people."

"You people' is a micro-aggression."

"My apologies. Y'all."

"'Y'all' is a cultural appropriation."

"Paris, you accusing someone of cultural appropriation is cultural appropriation."

Oh, man, this is so close to being great! I like the message and so much of it works well - and there are even a few moments of genuine profundity in BJ Novak's script (alongside maybe some lines that come off as a bit overly self-conscious - let's face it, he is straining real hard to be profound here, but give him credit for intermittently succeeding).

"I'd probably say that nobody writes anything. All we do is translate. So if you ever get stuck and you don't know what to say... just listen. Even to the silences. Listen as hard as you can to the world around you and... repeat back what you hear. That translation, that's your voice."

I mean, come on. That's pretty good. Simple, yes, but that works for me.

Ben (Novak) is just such a shitheel though. This is giving me immediate flashbacks to my recent Heartbreak Kid experience - I know we are supposed to find him pathetic and contemptible, but I really despised this dickhead so much, it was maybe too much to come back from when he starts earning some sympathy later on. And unlike The Heartbreak Kid, I'm not entirely sure Novak really fully appreciates just how much of a dick Ben is.

Also, although this is clearly satirising the sniffy, liberal blue-state disdain of red-state "hicks", I did sometimes get the feeling that behind the self-awareness there was still a basic contempt there - or at least a very condescending liberal dismissiveness. It's a difficult line to toe, because of course there is so much to laugh at on both sides of the American social divide, and I'm not sure this quite achieves that delicate balance.

I do think the critique of ever-connected, instant gratification culture is really on point, and Ben's character development is handled well. And there's a true warmth that builds between Ben and his adoptive West Texas family. Not to mention a pretty nice twist in the final act, so this does work as a mystery tale. These are the things I really dig about the film. But aside from the tonal problem, I think Novak could have cast the film a little more astutely. Ashton Kutcher probably contributes his best ever work here but, let's face it, Quentin Sellers is an absolute plum role. Anyone could have made gravy with a role like this and, I'll be honest, I think there are a ton of actors who would have done a better job with it. But maybe I'm just prejudiced against Ashton Kutcher because I think he's a talentless moron (and he may have an IQ of 170 for all I know - I acknowledge this is a prejudice but there's nothing here to really change my opinion of him).

But there is something here. I want to see Novak's next film and I hope he gets the chance to make it. This feels like it could be the immature work of a budding talent.

"You know, um... There's some things I'm good at. I'm good at asking the right questions. I'm good at getting people to talk. And I'm especially good at drawing thematic connections between seemingly disparate elements and using that to illustrate a larger point or theory. So, whoever or whatever is responsible for what happened to Abilene, I will find this person or this... generalized societal force, and... I will define it. I'll define it."