Some people have a knack for getting along with others. They are gregarious and open to all the possibilities of relationships. When a project requires the participation of all, they are the ones who volunteer to organize it and lead a cheer for cooperation. When two groups get caught up in a feud, look for them to serve as mediators. The central character in The Wendell Baker Story is this kind of sociable person. When we first meet him, he is a bit con man scrounging out a meager living as an entrepreneurial law-breaker. It takes him a while to get into his groove and discover his true vocation.
Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson) sells fake IDs to migrant workers along the Tex-Mex border. He calls the trailer that he operates with his buddy Reyes (Jacob Vargas) "the Ellis Island of the Southwest." He has been dating Doreen (Eva Mendes) for many years, and she wants a commitment that he is unwilling to give. When undercover agents smash his illegal operation, Wendell is sent to prison. Doreen ditches him for a more respectable and responsible man (Will Ferrell). While he is behind bars, Wendell negotiates a truce between the Crips and the Aryan Brothers. He also discovers books in the library on the art and craft of hotel management.
Upon his release, the parole board assigns him a job working at Shady Grove, a run-down retirement hotel run by head nurse Neil King (Owen Wilson), a nasty man with a drug problem and a scheme for bilking elderly people out of their Medicare payments. Wendell, who is happy for the chance to start his life over afresh in a new place, takes a fancy to three of the most interesting old men at Shady Grove: Boyd (Seymour Cassel), Skip (Harry Dean Stanton), and Nasher (Kris Kristofferson). Together, they decide to take on King and his partners in crime.
The Wendell Baker Story, directed by Luke Wilson and Andrew Wilson, is a lark from start to finish. Hospitality is a universally recognized as a human virtue and whoever practices it brings light and joy into the lives of others. Wendell Baker is ideally suited for the hotel business with his charm, good manners, and natural affinity for people. The residents at Shady Grove are used to being treated poorly and are stunned when Wendell actually takes a personal interest in them that is genuine. The biggest surprise turns out to be his friendship with Nasher, a reclusive man who sits in his room and watches old Western movies. The finale of this entertaining film really clicks and goes down easily.
Special DVD features include audio commentaries with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and Andrew Wilson and a featurette: "Behind the Scenes of The Wendell Baker Story".
