We’ve already had Dale Dickey in a role she seemed utterly born to play at Glasgow Film Festival, and here’s another fine character actor David Krumholtz doing the same in Lousy Carter. A prickly, frequently brutal comedy that takes the very careworn scenario of a rumpled academic that takes a flamethrower to his own life and adds a humanitarian streak that’s not immediately apparent, but seeps through like an open wound through a fresh dressing.

Lousy Carter (Krumholtz) doesn’t necessarily hate the nickname he gained at school. Just as well since it’s stuck to the point that family, colleagues, and previous lovers all use it (we never actually discover his real name). Previously a semi-successful animator, he now teaches a Mickey Mouse graduate class on The Great Gatsby, and generally letting life pass him by. But then his existence is thrown into turmoil when he’s given six months to live. Or at least, it should be thrown into turmoil, but Lousy seems to deal with the news with a shrug. If the news triggers anything, it’s a desire to try and forge ahead with the closest thing he has to a dream; an animated adaptation of an obscure novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

It’s hard to believe David Krumholtz didn’t have a hand n the writing process given how completely he embodies the role of Lousy Carter. The acidic, vaguely juvenile Carter should be loathsome, but there’s something disarmingly sweet in his misanthropy. It’s as if it’s so clearly a defence mechanism that people still warm to him. Whether it’s his colleague Hershel (a fabulously taciturn Martin Starr) who can’t bring himself to be furious at Lousy having an affair with his wife, or his young student Gail (newcomer Luxy Banner, bringing some deathless Gen Z snark) with whom Lousy contemplates an inappropriate dalliance. No only does she put up with him, but occasionally seems to seriously consider reciprocating. And to be fair he’s a pretty droll character with whom to spend 80 minutes.

Even though the comedy in Lousy Carter tends to simply draw a wry smile or a snort of disbelief, it is remarkably consistent. Writer/ director Bob Byington’s script isn’t played deadpan, so much devastatingly jaded, as if every inhabitant of this world is so used to disappointment that they can’t muster any further outrage when the next thing goes wrong. This stops the film feeling completely devoid of emotion, even providing a little warmth at every glimmer of light or mild moment of kindness.

And for a film about academics, the screenplay is exactingly economical. Every character is capable of knocking the air out of the other with a one-word rebuff, and do so often This occasionally feels like several people speaking with one authorial voice, but it’s a tool that functions as a very effective running gag in its own right.

With shades of Alexander Payne’s Election, vibes of a less abrasive Alex Ross Perry, and thematic nods to Nabokov, there’s little actual narrative to Lousy Carter besides watching a mediocre man systematically piss away the time he has left. And there’s something weirdly admirable about that. If you dial into its particular wavelength, you probably wont be surprised at the direction it takes, but for all its astringency, Lousy Carter is a surprisingly sweet comedy. Filled with perfectly cast performers like Starr, Olivia Thirlby, and Jocelyn DeBoer, who bounce off Krumholtz’s perfectly-pitched performance beautifully, it’s an irresistible ode to doing fuck-all with your life.

Lousy Carter receives its UK Premiere Fri 1 Mar and screens Sat 2 Mar 2024 as part of Glasgow Film Festival