Downhill (2020) * *

Directed by:  Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

Starring:  Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Miranda Otto, Zach Woods, Zoe Chao, Giulio Beruti

Downhill is neither fish nor fowl.   It's a dramedy about a deep chasm opening up for a longtime married couple during a ski trip to Austria.   It isn't particularly funny, deep, dramatic, or much of anything.   It's just there. 

SNL alums Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star as Pete and Billie, a seemingly happy couple skiing on the slopes of the Austrian Alps with their two kids, who may not like skiing as much as their parents.    One day, the marriage is tested when a controlled explosion on a mountainside forces an avalanche which doesn't simply blow by the ski resort.   Snow rumbles onto a small restaurant deck, and Pete decides to save himself and his phone and make a run for it, leaving the wife and kids to grasp onto each other in a potentially deadly situation.    Turns out, the avalanche didn't do much except blow snow everywhere, but that doesn't mean Pete's act of cowardice is any less monumental in Billie's eyes and their kids'.   Can they really trust Pete going forward?

I was reminded of the Seinfeld episode in which George bowls over kids and an elderly woman in a walker to escape an apartment fire.    Pete didn't run over any old ladies, but we see where his head's at.  He is selfish at his core, more interested in sitting in the bathroom texting his friends and inviting one couple to drop in on his vacation without his wife's permission.    This is likely because his friends interest him more than his family.   Both Billie and Pete are going through the motions with the kids, with Billie at least putting up more of a fight to save the family dynamic.

Downhill never generates enough laughs or insight.   A pushy hotel employee named Charlotte (Otto) solely exists to annihilate the couple's social boundaries and tiresomely point out Americans' supposedly stiff attitude towards sex.   Other than as an attempt to generate cheap laughs, what purpose does Charlotte serve in all of this?

Pete's attempts to justify his act or even to shed doubt on Billie's recollection of the event only muddies the waters, but this is all pretty thin soup.   There isn't a lot at stake here emotionally or comically to keep us caring all that much.   Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus do what they can with the skimpy material, and if you like snow-covered mountains, this movie is for you.    There is one scene or two where the actors are clearly standing in front of a green screen, but no matter, there is lots of skiing to be done.   The film's title sums up the moviegoer experience after the first ten minutes or so.