Jason Sudeikis Completes His Romantic-Lead Metamorphosis in the ‘Tumbledown’ Trailer

Jason Sudeikis was such a great asset to the cast during his stint on Saturday Night Live because he had such a versatile persona. He was perfectly capable playing the straight man against the outsized characters the other actors might dream up, but when the time came for him to deliver a punch line or bring the funny for a sillier character (such as the two a-holes he and Kristen Wiig repeatedly portrayed), he always came through. But with his SNL days behind him and a full-time career blossoming before him, it seems that Sudeikis has settled into a solid type. He was a game romantic lead opposite Alison Brie in Leslye Headland’s savvy rom-com Sleeping With Other People last year, rough around the edges and yet still lovable, and the trailer for his new picture Tumbledown nudges him further down that same path.

He plays a bespectacled writer (two words capable of inspiring swoons in women with a certain taste) who makes contact with the widow of a celebrated musician as research for a biography of the deceased artist he's preparing. The young woman, played by Rebecca Hall (The Town, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), initially bristles at what she perceives to be vulture-ish attempts to capitalize on her late husband’s legacy. But because this is a romantic comedy, she must necessarily warm up to him, rediscover the good that still exists in humanity, let him in to her heart and then later, her pants.

For added romance and comedy, there will be dogs and they will sort of act like people, in a way that is adorable and delightful. The will cock their cute little dog-heads quizzically, as if to indicate that they feel Rebecca Hall’s anguish and just want her to find happiness. Joe Manganiello, so godly in Magic Mike XXL, also joins the cast as a hunky ranger keeping the deer population under control, as does Blythe Danner (See You In My Dreams) and Glee’s Dianna Agron. Hopefully, the tender budding courtship between the leads will be enough to warm our weary souls during the bleak month of February, when this movie makes its debut.