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A Tale Of Two Nortons

Edward Norton burst onto the scene in 1996 with "Primal Fear," skillfully playing two sides of the same character: a stuttering walking nerve and a revenge-seeking manipulator. He takes on dual roles again in "Leaves of Grass," this time as identical twins who spend much of the film interacting. It's a gimmick, yes, but it can be a strangely effective one - just look at Sam Rockwell's surprisingly stellar "Moon." It works here too, namely because the acting is sharp and the film is proudly off the wall.

If the thought of Norton chatting with himself, yelling at himself and sharing a bong with himself makes you smirk, then you will probably enjoy "Leaves of Grass," which is similar in tone to "Burn After Reading" -- an unlikely coincidence as writer/director Tim Blake Nelson appeared in the Coens' "O Brother, Where Are Thou." The film begins with Bill (Norton), an acclaimed philosophy professor, who graces magazine covers and has the ladies in school hyperventilating. How is he so successful? "I don't have a life" he says over lunch to a few men interested in hiring him.

Life seems to be going well - barring an incident with an aggressive student who hurls herself at him - until he learns that his brother Brady (also Norton) has been killed in, of all things, a crossbow accident. Reluctantly, he gets on a plane to small-town Oklahoma, the site of a past he clearly wants to leave behind. It's been years since he stepped foot there and he is as thrilled as someone preparing for a colonoscopy. Oh, and his brother isn't actually deceased; it was a ploy to get him to come home. That jokester.

Brady, the drug dealer hick to Bill's classy academic, is in trouble with a high-ranking member of the Jewish community, Pug Rothbaum (Richard Dreyfuss). He owes him some dough, and he has a pregnant wife (Melanie Lynskey) who is counting on him (because, you know, it's always wise to lean on conmen). The plan: Brady wants his brother to spend a weekend pretending to be him so that he can skip town, find Pug and settle the score. It's no wonder Bill wanted to stay far away from that region.

"Leaves of Grass" is a silly crime comedy with a mix of marijuana and philosophical musings. It mostly succeeds as a screwball adventure - there are sprinklings of deep themes (home is who you are, not where you are, yada yada) but they're not half as interesting as seeing a menorah used as a weapon, or watching Keri Russell (a love interest for Bill) earnestly quote Walt Whitman while gutting a fish, or listening to any of Brady's ridiculous comments. There's even a disgruntled orthodontist (Josh Pais), the kind of guy who'd make you want to drink heavily on a long flight.

All of the actors seem to be having a grand old time in "Leaves of Grass," especially Norton. His characters are so different that it's easy to forget he is playing both roles - Bill is the straight man with a stranglehold on his inner party animal, and Brady is the vivacious troublemaker who can charm anyone into doing anything. The one-man show should be enough of a draw for fans of Norton (and those frustrated by his career choices) and will satisfy those craving an oddball outing. It's not perfect, but there is splendor in this "Grass."