John Krasinski Gets Hideous, Kinky

For many women, the character that John Krasinski plays on The Office is their idealized man. "OMG," they type (even the seventy-year-old women type this, on account of Krasinski's dreaminess). "Can you beliiiieve what Jim did for Pam last night? When am I gonna find a guy like that, amirite?" The marketers of Krasinski's directorial debut have an interesting challenge, then: They want to woo as many Jim fans as possible, but the film Krasinski has made is positively filled with anti-Jims.

Based on the book by David Foster Wallace, Krasinski's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is one male monologue after another told to Sara (Julianne Nicholson), who's organized a study to explore men's most callous impulses. The reason? She's hoping to better understand the boyfriend (played by Krasinski) who coldly dumped her. Wait, dumped her? That is such a Roy thing to do.

The trailer suggests Foster Wallace filtered through Neil Labute, with cameos from a Who's Who of "Oh, who is that? I know I just saw him in something." Still, the real appeal (which remains submerged here) is going to come from watching Krasinski play a jerk. If just one "Jam" fan starts to fear for Pam's emotional well-being, he'll have done his job.

VERDICT: Intrigued.