Family gatherings are stressful enough without political arguments, surprise pregnancies and a deadly virus trapping everyone under the same roof. The Clutterbucks, the debut feature from writer and director Rich Ronat, throws all of those ingredients into one delightfully eccentric dark comedy, creating an entertaining satire that pokes fun at modern America while keeping its focus firmly on one wonderfully dysfunctional family.
Set in El Paso, Texas, in 2075, the film presents a future that is both familiar and oddly surreal. Flying cars now occupy the skies, cigarettes produce colourful clouds of smoke, and a second American Civil War has left a giant wall separating the United States from Mexico. Despite these futuristic touches, everyday life hasn’t changed quite as much as expected, with much of society feeling surprisingly recognisable beneath the science-fiction dressing.
Adding to the chaos is the latest global pandemic. A horrifying new virus attacks its victims’ eyeballs before causing their faces to melt and limbs to fall away. As infection rates soar, a nationwide lockdown is announced, forcing everyone indoors under the threat of brutal punishment for anyone caught outside. It provides the perfect setup for the story, allowing the film to become an entertaining chamber piece centred almost entirely within the Clutterbuck family home.
The Clutterbucks are preparing for Thanksgiving as parents Rufus (Brian Gross) and Twyla (Laura Vale) welcome home their children. They’ve spent years dreaming of son Billy (Brit Scott) becoming a professional football player and securing the family’s financial future. Unfortunately for them, Billy arrives with news that completely shatters those hopes.
Not only has he quit football, but he’s opening a cannabis business with his older girlfriend Christina (Jacy King), who also happens to be pregnant. Twyla takes the revelation particularly badly, becoming convinced the unborn child is a “demon baby” that threatens everything she has planned for her family.
Meanwhile, eldest daughter Madison (Kayla Raelle) returns home having joined Alcoholics Anonymous, much to the disappointment of Twyla, whose famous margaritas have always been a Thanksgiving tradition. Then there’s the youngest daughter, Adalynn (Bixby Baker), who lives with both physical and mental health issues and communicates through a foul-mouthed hand puppet with the voice of an adult man. It’s a bizarre running joke that repeatedly catches everyone off guard and becomes one of the film’s more memorable comic touches.
Much of The Clutterbucks lives or dies on its dialogue, and fortunately Ronat has written a script packed with amusing exchanges and eccentric conversations. The humour is less about delivering constant laugh-out-loud moments and more about allowing the absurd personalities to bounce off one another. Political disagreements, generational differences and family frustrations all collide in increasingly ridiculous situations that maintain an entertaining rhythm throughout.
One particularly enjoyable sequence sees Twyla recounting the story of her brother Charlie’s descent into alcoholism, somehow involving clowns, laser guns and an absurd chain of events that perfectly captures the film’s offbeat sense of humour. It’s exactly the kind of scene that shouldn’t work on paper, yet fits comfortably within the strange world Ronat has created.
Laura Vale is undoubtedly the film’s standout performer. As the fiercely opinionated Twyla, she dominates almost every scene she appears in, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the role of the overbearing family matriarch. There’s a touch of Malcolm in the Middle’s Lois in her relentless determination to control every aspect of family life, although Vale gives the character her own unique energy. Whether she’s arguing with Billy, plotting to derail his relationship or desperately trying to preserve her family’s future, she’s consistently entertaining to watch.
The supporting cast also performs well, with Brit Scott bringing enough sincerity to Billy that his character never feels like a simple punchline, while Kayla Raelle enjoys several spirited exchanges with Vale as Madison. Bixby Baker also leaves a lasting impression thanks to Adalynn and her outrageous puppet, which frequently steals scenes with perfectly timed interruptions.
The Clutterbucks is a quirky indie comedy
Behind the camera, Ronat keeps things relatively straightforward. The cinematography favours clean, functional framing rather than flashy visuals, but there’s enough variety in the edit to prevent the single-location setting from becoming visually repetitive. The editing also deserves credit, making effective use of cutaways and reaction shots that help several of the film’s jokes land successfully.
The one area where the film feels slightly underdeveloped is its futuristic setting. While the opening establishes an intriguing version of 2075, complete with flying cars, political world-building and unusual technological developments, the story itself could largely unfold in the present day once the family is confined to the house. It would have been interesting to spend more time exploring this imagined future, as it’s an engaging backdrop that ultimately plays only a small role in the main narrative.
That said, the film never pretends to be a large-scale science-fiction epic. Its focus is always the Clutterbuck family, and that’s where it succeeds. The characters are entertaining, the dialogue remains engaging throughout, and the satirical observations about politics, family dynamics and modern society give the comedy more substance than its deliberately outrageous premise might initially suggest.
The Clutterbucks is an enjoyable independent comedy that embraces its eccentricity without becoming completely over-the-top. While not every joke lands with equal success and its futuristic setting could have been explored further, Rich Ronat has crafted an amusing, character-driven satire with a committed ensemble cast and plenty of memorable moments. Fans of quirky family comedies and offbeat humour should find plenty to appreciate here.
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