PREMISE
The Baltimorons is a small indie drama about two broken, very different people who end up spending Christmas together after a chain of accidents and coincidences, slowly forming a bond that helps them pull each other through a difficult moment in their lives.
Cliff is a recovering alcoholic and former improv stand-up comedian visiting his fiancée’s family in Baltimore on Christmas Eve. After chipping his tooth, he ends up in the office of Didi, a middle-aged dentist whose ex-husband has just married someone younger that same morning. His car gets towed, and after a few impulsive decisions, the two spend the night roaming Baltimore, dealing with their disappointments and slowly forming an unexpected connection.
CONTEXT
Winner of the South by Southwest 2025 Audience Award, the film marks Jay Duplass’s return to the director’s chair in the indie, low-budget space. He had already made a run of intimate, character-driven comedies with his brother Mark Duplass, and after more than ten years focused on producing and writing, he now tackles his first solo project without his brother. It is a quieter and more mature work that fits well with the film’s focus on flawed adults trying to rebuild their lives, while still carrying the emotional honesty that defined the Duplass brothers’ early films.
THE REVIEW
Like the brothers’ earlier work, the film mixes cringe comedy with tender, low-key dramatic scenes. The comedy aspect is hit-or-miss, but the drama is where the film truly sneaks up on you. The first half relies on situations that force Cliff and Didi to stay together, most of which are played for laughs. These scenes often feel broad and exaggerated, and they can be confusing on whether the events are genuine accidents or something the characters are performing, as in the early tooth-accident moment and the towed-car scene. The film only finds its footing once night falls and the two start visiting places tied to their past. In those moments, the film recalls the walking-night intimacy of Before Sunset, mixed with the warm, character-driven melancholy and seventies touch of The Holdovers.
The film leans heavily on the chemistry between Michael Strassner, who also co-wrote the script, and Liz Larsen, and both carry the weight. Their unlikely connection feels believable, and the way they open up over the course of the night is handled with care. Even if I was not convinced at first about romance entering this relationship, it ends up working because of the film’s empathy for these two.
IMPACT
It takes a while to find its rhythm, but once it does, The Baltimorons reveals itself as a modest and heartfelt Christmas movie that works nicely this time of year.