Humble Pie

It’s hard not to like Tracy Orbison (Hubbel Palmer). A dopey Midwestern guy who excels as a food-stocking professional, Tracy politely and passively passes his days scribbling poems in a notebook during shift breaks and day-dreaming of making something more of himself. Although there is already a lot more of him than some think necessary. In a blinding moment of enlightenment, he enrolls in an acting class taught by a pompous Z-list has-been (played by a hilarious William Baldwin). Things don’t quite go according to plan, as a tragically comical chain of mishaps leads Tracy to take a more active role in his life by mentoring a young thug while fending off his obnoxious mother (Academy Award Nominee Kathleen Quinlan) and indifferent sister (Mary Lynn Rajskub, Julie & Julia, FOX’s 24), all the while awkwardly attempting to conquer the elusive driver’s exam and trying to lose “about ten pounds.” A different kind of everyman, Tracy Orbison reminds us that the caution light flashes even while chasing our dreams. MPAA Rating: PG-13 2009