Bob Odenkirk Goes Ballistic Yet Again

It still seems unlikely that the legacies of John Wick and Mr. Show should intersect, and yet here we are with Normal, comedian-turned-actor-turned-action-star Bob Odenkirk’s third collaboration with writer Derek Kolstad. Given the high saturation point of Wick knockoffs over the last dozen years, many of which have lazily continued the theme of an unassuming person’s secret skill set getting unleashed for purposes of revenge, it is at least refreshing that this time, the brutality emanates from a place of comic chaos. Ulysses (Odenkirk) is not exactly a high-level mercenary, just a Fargo-esque nice guy with pretty good aim and solid luck.

Kolstad’s script comes from a story by him and Odenkirk, and the two bring on English director Ben Wheatley, whose own particular brand of satirical, messy masculinity pairs really nicely with highly precise stunt choreography. Normal is closer to Free Fire than it is to Nobody, and contains within it a concern for the domino effect of economic insecurity in small-town America. Wheatley’s solid handle on clownish comedy and explosive squibs makes this genre fare more interesting and successful than Odenkirk’s previous collaborations.

Normal Utilizes Odenkirk’s Everyman Charm To Masterful Effect

For much of the film’s first half, Normal plays a bit like an American Hot Fuzz. Ulysses has been appointed interim sheriff of Normal, a Minnesota hamlet, for eight weeks until the next election cycle, using (what he hopes is) a temporary separation from his wife to keep busy. Not too busy, of course. Ulysses has survived this long because he’s made a point of not caring too much about the letter of the law, making minimal involvement an art form in the process.

Normal seems like any other small American town in a myriad of ways. Its one main street is dotted with all the itinerant necessities of any locale, and half of the population has been driven out by severe economic disparity. In spite of that, there’s some odd business Ulysses immediately notices. For one thing, the city hall has somehow raised over twelve million dollars for reconstruction, and the police department’s armory is full to the brim with military-grade weapons technology.

Normal is a warm jolt of adrenaline in a dismal winter, and Kolstad efficiently infuses his characters with plenty of characterization.

Ulysses isn’t one to muck about, though, and vows to leave the town just as he found it. That begins to get difficult when details around his predecessor’s death are difficult to come by. Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler) is smarmy and cagey, and at the memorial service, Detective Blaine (Ryan Allen) insists that the deceased’s daughter, Alex (Jess McLeod), be kept out. Ulysses finds out that the former sheriff died while ice fishing at night, which is self-evidently suspicious on a number of levels.

Nonetheless, everything seems relatively calm – until an unassuming couple, Lori and Keith (Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher, respectively), decide to rob the local bank. The decision to do so has an immediate, dynamite-like domino effect. Turns out, Normal is owned by the Yakuza, and now Ulysses, Lori, Keith, and Alex are in an all-out turf war with literally everyone else just as a heavy snowstorm blankets the town.

Normal is shot in glorious film by cinematographer Armando Salas (he previously shot the Netflix series Griselda), and the grain provides an illicit grit. Wheatley’s movie is essentially a snowy neo-Western, with Ulysses an older, slower, but far kinder Man with No Name. There’s also a strong relationship to Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, especially as Ulysses tries to rally the town to trick the Yakuza. Yet, in spite of how absurd much of the film is, it is filmed with relative normalcy and groundedness, which is a really exciting contrast in style.

There isn’t necessarily a ton going on under the hood, but what exists is fun enough and smart enough not to outstay its welcome. Clocking in at a crisp 90 minutes, Normal is a warm jolt of adrenaline in a dismal winter, and Kolstad efficiently fleshes out his characters enough that we care about them all, especially when they end up nasty collateral damage. Wheatley is such a strong technician that the film easily rises above its, well, normalcy, to become something much more distinct.

Normal screened at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival.