SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

He's just past the expiration date to qualify as a hipster. At 54, rumpled, technology-challenged Mel has seen his rock dreams fade away in New York City, only to wind up, improbably, running a low-rent pawn shop in Birmingham, Alabama.


Although he's not especially political, he has reason to be very afraid when he's thrust into the dark heart of extreme Southern yahoo culture in Lynn Shelton's very funny comedy Sword Of Trust. 

Mel is played by Marc Maron, better known as a stand-up comedy performer and podcaster.


Filmmaker Shelton conceived the part of Mel as a showcase for Maron's dry wit and scruffy sarcasm beneath a facade of rational cool — all on full display here, since so much of the movie's dialogue was improvised.

And Maron is up to the task, funny on a dime, yet just as persuasive in the character's more serious and revealing moments. He provides the grounding for the rest of the excellent cast to build on.

When a Civil War-era sword is brought into the shop one day, Mel and his cohorts are drawn into an entire subculture of "provers." Convinced that the truth about the South actually winning the war has been "buried by the Deep State," these folks are dedicated to collecting evidence that "proves" otherwise — and ready to pay big bucks for it.

Into the woods: Will irony be enough?

A fellow called Hog Jaws escorts Mel and his uneasy cohorts out to meet “the boss.” On a long journey into the woods, shut up in a van without windows, but an entirely carpeted interior, they realize they're entering into "the brain" of redneck craziness. "Apparently, it's carpeted."

Irony won't be much of a weapon if things get dire, but it's all they've got.

The twisty little surprises of the plot are delicious to discover along the way, and the sharp, funny conversations had me laughing out loud. It's a well-crafted movie of many small pleasures that add up to big fun.