Entertainment

Ceremony

A frisky but failing chil dren’s book author (Michael Angarano) makes a play for a woman (Uma Thurman) old enough to be his mother on the eve of her wedding in “Ceremony,” a listless debut film from Max Winkler, son of Henry.

At its best, the movie is an unbearably precious slice of stale imitation Wes Anderson. But at its worst, it’s dull and strangled by its own would-be jaunty deadpan. Angarano, talking fast but saying nothing, channels the bratty schoolboy from “Rushmore” as he schemes his way into the Long Island estate where the wedding is to be held, dragging along a sidekick (Reece Thompson) who is even duller. This whiny, hapless buddy has no purpose in the story except to listen to Angarano’s nonstop filibustering.

Young Winkler needs to learn that simply instructing characters to smirk and look ironic is not enough; you actually have to come up with funny things for them to say. Nor is there any reason to care about the progress of this strange mismatch to begin with.