The Avalanche: "Downhill" a smart, squirmingly funny rethink of the smart, squirmingly funny "Force Majeure"

Downhill (2020)

86 min.
Screened on February 12, 2020 at UA Riverview Plaza in Philadelphia, PA

Release Date: February 14, 2020 (Wide)

With any U.S. remake of an international film, there is always the fear that it will be dumbed-down and watered-down for us silly American audiences who can’t find it in ourselves to read subtitles. “Inspired by” 2014’s squirmingly funny and incisive Swedish domestic slice-of-life “Force Majeure,” “Downhill” hits all the same beats as Ruben Östlund’s film, and even retains the prickly bite and ideas of male ego, cowardice and gender roles, and gains mileage from finely tuned performances by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell. Even with these two comedy headliners, this is not a hysterical, joke-a-minute farce with fall-down-the-slopes slapstick. “Downhill” might have softened the edges a tad with a lighter touch, but this is actually a wry, smartly observed American dramedy for grown-ups that isn’t afraid to bring deliciously uncomfortable truths to the table like a crucible about a relationship in crisis. Laugh nervously and think afterward.

Like “Force Majeure,” “Downhill” is more character-centric than plot-driven as the inciting incident is the crux of the film. Married couple Pete (Will Ferrell), a real estate agent, and Billie Stanton (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a type-A attorney, take sons Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford) on a ski trip in the Austrian Alps. Billie keeps getting on Pete to take a break from his phone “for work” (read: checking social media) and be in the present with the family. On only the second day of their vacation, the family is lunching on an outdoor terrace when they witness a controlled avalanche, which Pete reassures will be safe. Before the family and the other guests know it, the avalanche descends so fast toward them, and then Pete panics, grabs his phone and runs away. Shaken up amidst the snowy mist, Billie and her sons are dumbfounded when Pete returns to order soup as if nothing happened. Familial tensions build even more as Pete remains in denial and keeps digging himself a hole.

Directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (2013’s “The Way Way Back”), who co-wrote the script with Jesse Armstrong (HBO’s “Succession”), hold back from broadening the dry humor too much, trusting in character pauses and silences, and letting the laughter organically spring from Pete and Billie and their situation. A meltdown the whole Stanton family has when Peter has scheduled a heli-skiing trip and one of the boys can’t find their glove is recognizable in its stress, and then a pivotal confrontation, where Billie finally explodes on Pete and leaves Pete’s co-worker friend Zach (Zach Woods) and Zach’s girlfriend Rosie (Zoe Chao) caught in the crossfire, is as cringe-inducing and cathartic as it needs to be. All of “Downhill” could frustrate as a petty ethical debate over a split-second decision made in a crisis, or at least what one might think they would do, but it is the moral quagmire that drives the film forward. Were this a "Seinfeld" episode, it would be called "The Avalanche."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2013’s “Enough Said”) is wonderful as Billie, a woman who likes to have the final word and be right. She plays high emotions with a forthright rawness rather than histrionics, and her character during a ski day of her own makes a choice in the moment involving a dishy ski instructor that doesn’t demonize her. Will Ferrell (2017’s “The House”) rises to the occasion as Peter, making him relatable and flawed, while never forcing any of the awkward humor or turning it into a labored bit. Making solid foils to Louis-Dreyfus and Ferrell are Zach Woods (taking over for Kristofer Hivju, who does have an amusing bit role as one of the ski patrol employees) and Zoe Chao as Zach and the hashtag-happy Rosie. A comedically loose Miranda Otto (2017's "Annabelle: Creation") might come from a wackier comedy, but she is a kick to watch as sexually uninhibited resort manager Charlotte, who calls her holiday spot “the Ibiza of the Alps.”

Whereas the original film didn’t judge either character, this 2020 rethink judges Pete a little bit more, while giving him a crutch — he’s grieving over the death of his father eight months ago. Directors Faxon and Rash are still sensitive to Pete, but the film is more on the side of Billie. The central relationship is worth saving, too, even if Pete's wrong actions have put them on rocky ground. This will inevitably be compared to its Swedish counterpart (and others might criticize it for not being in step with other Will Ferrell comedies), but on its own terms, “Downhill” still makes for a frank conversation starter of discomfort for those in a relationship. Hopefully, the couple who watches together can, like Pete and Billie, meet in the middle rather than argue.

Grade: B