The Neo-Noir (Mid)Western Normal Is Only Minnesota Nice

The Screening Room | Bloody humor a winner in 'Normal'

Bob Odenkirk is Ulysses Richardson, interim sheriff for the town of Normal, Minn. Seems his predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, and he’s there to fill in until the next election in eight weeks. Though he has a laid back demeanor,…

May Bob Odenkirk Always Have as Much Fun as He's Having in Normal

Bob Odenkirk in Normal —Courtesy of Magnolia PicturesA seemingly earnest new sheriff arrives in a small, apparently friendly midwestern town, only to discover a world of deception behind the citizens’ friendly façade. You’ve seen that story before, lots of times. But that doesn’t mean Bob Odenkirk, the star of the grisly action-comedy Normal, can’t have some fun with it.Odenkirk’s Ulysses Richardson arrives in the cozy town of Normal, Minn., pop…

The Neo-Noir (Mid)Western Normal Is Only Minnesota Nice

Normal, Minnesota, the flat, snowed-in setting for the new Bob Odenkirk-headlined action flick Normal, is fictional. How quickly the phrase “Odenkirk-headlined action flick” has become normalized, as though the world is full of 63-year-old former Saturday Night Live writers-cum-Tony Award nominees who live totally reasonable, temperate lives until the need arises for them to take out the trash. Anyway, Normal is a phony place, and after a tantal…

Review: Bob Odenkirk's sheriff is new to town in the gory thriller 'Normal'

Over the years, we’ve seen countless characters wander into corrupt small towns and become entrapped by the locals. Usually, the mean face of these movies is the town sheriff. The best recent example: Don Johnson’s crooked lawman in 2024’s Rebel Ridge.

How Bob Odenkirk and the ‘Nobody’ team set out to elevate the genre with ‘Normal’

At first glance, many may have assumed that Bob Odenkirk's new film, Normal, was another sequel in the Nobody franchise. With the same star, writer, and producer, the two films do share much of the same DNA. However, the team's new movie is not only a completely new story but attempts to blend genres in a way that further separates it from its predecessor.Mashable's Entertainment Editor, Kristy Puchko, caught up with the Normal team at SXSW to t…

Bob Odenkirk & Lena Headey Talk Normal, Playing a 'Prank on the Universe'

(Photo Credit: Magnolia Pictures) ComingSoon editor-in-chief Tyler Treese spoke with Normal stars Bob Odenkirk and Lena Headey (read about her other new film Ballistic) about the new action movie. The duo discussed Odenkirk becoming an unlikely action star, their characters, and working together. The film is out in theaters starting today. “For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal w…