“Vengeance” is a funny and engaging murder mystery that takes a biting look at the American cultural divide. B.J. Novak stars as Ben, a burgeoning writer in New York who finds out that a girl that he hooked up with a few times, Abilene, has tragically died. Thinking the pair's relationship to be more serious than it was, Abilene's family guilts Ben into attending her funeral in Texas. Thus, the New York Liberal flies to West Texas…and a culture clash ensues. 

In addition to starring, Novak is making his feature-length debut in directing, writing, and producing. While Novak as a creative force is impressive, Boyd Holbrook steals the show as Abilene's grieving brother Ty who is convinced his sister was murdered. Also featured is Ashton Kutcher as a wisdom-imparting-guru-slash-enigmatic-music-producer, which sounds ridiculous because it is; however, Kutcher honestly turns in one of his best performances. Issa Rae can do no wrong, and while she is featured prominently, her role is almost entirely on the phone as Ben's podcast producer in New York. I would have loved to see her get the opportunities for more interaction with the rest of the cast. (It's akin to how The Rock "stars" in “Ballers,” yet 90% of his scenes are just singles of him on the phone in his car.)  Dove Cameron and J Smith-Cameron round out the exceptional cast. Even John Mayer playing a sent-up version of himself (or possibly a toned-down version?) was good for quite a few laughs in the opening scene. 

The subject matter inherently requires the humor and the underlying themes to balance on a razor's edge or risk alienating half of the audience. While it does teeter over that edge at times, it does so in equal measure and in both directions. However, these transgressions are easily forgiven because of the film's empathic heart. After all, "heart sees heart." 

— 4 / 5 ⭐