The Baltimorons

During the pandemic, Jay Duplass started following a Baltimore comic on Instagram whose videos kept making him laugh. That was Michael Strassner, and the friendship that followed led to 'The Baltimorons', the first film in more than a decade from the director of 'Cyrus' and his first without his brother Mark Duplass as co-director, though Mark's still on board as a producer. The two of them wrote it from Strassner's own life, and he plays the lead too.

It's Christmas Eve, and Cliff (Strassner), a former improv comedian who's six months sober, is heading to dinner with the family of his fiancée, Brittany (Olivia Luccardi). He trips on the way in, knocks out a tooth and the only dentist he can find open is Didi (Liz Larsen), a divorcee who's just heard from her daughter that her ex-husband got married that very day.

What should've been a quick appointment drags on. Cliff's car has been towed, Didi offers him a lift and, one thing leading to another, they end up spending the whole night together around Baltimore, from her ex's party to the club where he used to perform. Neither of them is at their best, and without quite meaning to, they keep each other company.

It was shot in Baltimore over three weeks in December 2023 for under a million dollars, making the most of the Christmas lights on 34th Street in Hampden. The Francis Scott Key Bridge turns up in an important scene, and the film is dedicated to the workers who died when it collapsed in 2024. Larsen, a Broadway actress, was nominated for best breakthrough performance at the Spirit Awards, and the film was up for the John Cassavetes Award.

It won the audience award in the Narrative Spotlight section at South by Southwest in March 2025, and IFC Films released it in American cinemas that September. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with Strassner and Larsen's chemistry singled out again and again.

• Comedy
• Drama
• Romance
• Christmas