{ "id": "ep91rg8k8w", "slug": "best-man-down", "title": "Best Man Down", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012", "label": "Comedies of 2011 to 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2012", "label": "Released in 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2012" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Comedies of 2011 to 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012", "label": "Comedies of 2011 to 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Best Man Down is a 2012 American comedy-drama, also known by its working title Lumpy, written and directed by Ted Koland. Justin Long and Jess Weixler play newlyweds whose best man (Tyler Labine) dies at their Phoenix wedding; Magnolia Pictures released it in 2013.", "snippet": "Best Man Down is a 2012 American comedy-drama, also known by its working title Lumpy, written and directed by Ted Koland. Justin Long and Jess Weixler play newlyweds whose best man (Tyler Labine) dies at their Phoenix wedding; Magnolia Pictures released it in 2013.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2012", "markdown": "# Best Man Down\n\n**Best Man Down** is a 2012 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Ted Koland, in which a newlywed couple cancels their honeymoon after their best man dies at their Phoenix wedding and returns to Minnesota to arrange his funeral, where they learn he had a hidden life.[1](https://www.magpictures.com/bestmandown/) It stars [Justin Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-long), Tyler Labine, Jess Weixler, Addison Timlin, Frances O'Connor, and [Shelley Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/shelley-long), and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures.[1](https://www.magpictures.com/bestmandown/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Written and directed by | Ted Koland, in his first feature as both writer and director[3](https://screenwritingmagazine.com/2013/11/13/writerdirector-ted-koland-on-best-man-down/) |\n| Starring | Justin Long (Scott), Jess Weixler (Kristin), Tyler Labine (Lumpy), Addison Timlin (Ramsey), Frances O'Connor (Jaime), Shelley Long (Gail)[1](https://www.magpictures.com/bestmandown/) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/best-man-down) |\n| Production | Shot in the Twin Cities in 2011 under the working title \"Lumpy\"[5](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872) |\n| Release | Video on demand from September 2013; limited theatrical release November 8, 2013[5](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012) |\n| Runtime and rating | About 90 minutes (sources list 89 to 91 minutes); rated PG-13[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012) • [6](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/best-man-down/) |\n| Reception | IMDb 6.4/10 from about 10,000 votes; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 25% from 12 reviews; Metacritic Metascore 36[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885300/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/best-man-down/) |\n| Box office | $1.8K gross in the United States[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nScott (Justin Long) and Kristin ([Jess Weixler](https://www.edgepedia.org/jess-weixler)) hold their wedding in Phoenix, with Scott's best friend Lumpy (Tyler Labine) as best man. Lumpy drinks through the reception until Scott cuts him off, and that night he dies in a hotel accident. The newlyweds cancel their honeymoon and fly home to the snowy Midwest to arrange his funeral in [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis).[1](https://www.magpictures.com/bestmandown/) • [9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/best-man-down-2012) Handling Lumpy's affairs leads them to a fifteen-year-old girl named Ramsey ([Addison Timlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/addison-timlin)) in a small northern Minnesota town, and the couple learns that the obnoxious drunk they knew was not the person his other friends knew.[1](https://www.magpictures.com/bestmandown/)\n\nThe film's structure joins two storylines: the couple's road trip through Minnesota and Ramsey's troubled home life, where her mother's boyfriend forces her to steal ingredients for crystal meth.[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/best-man-down-2013) The parallel stories gradually merge as Scott and Kristin follow Lumpy's trail to Ramsey's doorstep.[11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/best-man-down)\n\n## Production\n\nTed Koland, a [St. Olaf College](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-olaf-college) graduate, wrote the script quickly as a calling card, completing it in five weeks without an outline, and then directed it as his first feature.[5](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872) • [3](https://screenwritingmagazine.com/2013/11/13/writerdirector-ted-koland-on-best-man-down/) Shooting took place in Minnesota in 2011, and Koland described the winter conditions as a directing challenge, alongside the difficulty of keeping a consistent tone in a story that mixes death with a honeymoon.[5](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872) • [3](https://screenwritingmagazine.com/2013/11/13/writerdirector-ted-koland-on-best-man-down/) The film was produced by KODA Entertainment.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012)\n\nThe film circulated under its working title, Lumpy, for about two and a half years before receiving the smoother title Best Man Down and a release date.[5](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872) It reached video on demand in late September 2013 and opened in a limited theatrical release on November 8, 2013.[5](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872) • [3](https://screenwritingmagazine.com/2013/11/13/writerdirector-ted-koland-on-best-man-down/)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritics received the film coolly. On Rotten Tomatoes the Tomatometer stood at 25 percent, with 3 fresh and 9 rotten reviews among 12 counted, and the audience Popcornmeter at 44 percent from more than 2,500 ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 36, labeled generally unfavorable, based on 4 critic reviews, with a user score of 5.5.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/best-man-down/) IMDb users rated it 6.4 out of 10 from about 10,000 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885300/)\n\nReviewers divided over the film's genre. Odie Henderson, reviewing for RogerEbert.com, rejected the marketing description of a \"warm and funny comedy,\" finding no laughs and calling the film disjointed and sloppy.[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/best-man-down-2013) Alonso Duralde, TheWrap's film reviews editor, wrote that none of Koland's story choices were remotely interesting and that the film shifts tone from comedy to drama without a feel for either.[12](https://www.thewrap.com/best-man-review-one-wedding-one-funeral-zero-appeal/) Other critics found more to value: the Sounds of Cinema review judged the best parts to be the storyline about Ramsey and her troubled home life, while faulting the film for leaving Lumpy himself vague, with most of what the viewer learns about him delivered in a closing speech rather than dramatized in flashbacks.[13](https://soundsofcinema.com/review-archive/review-best-man-down-2013/) Common Sense Media's review concluded that the film improves as it unfolds, becoming unexpectedly emotional as the teenager reveals the late best man's true character, though it noted thin characterizations and piled-up coincidences.[11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/best-man-down)\n\nThe film's commercial run was small: its United States gross was $1.8K.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Best Man Down, Magnolia Pictures official site](https://www.magpictures.com/bestmandown/)\n2. [Best Man Down (2012), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lumpy_2012)\n3. [Writer/director Ted Koland on Best Man Down, Screenwriting Magazine (2013)](https://screenwritingmagazine.com/2013/11/13/writerdirector-ted-koland-on-best-man-down/)\n4. [Best Man Down streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/best-man-down)\n5. [Wait is over for Justin Long's Minnesota movie 'Best Man Down', Minnesota Star Tribune (2013)](https://www.startribune.com/wait-is-over-for-justin-long-s-minnesota-movie-best-man-down/225414872)\n6. [Review: Best Man Down, Slant Magazine (2013)](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/best-man-down/)\n7. [Best Man Down (2012), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885300/)\n8. [Best Man Down Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/best-man-down/)\n9. [Best Man Down (2012) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/best-man-down-2012)\n10. [Best Man Down movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com (2013)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/best-man-down-2013)\n11. [Best Man Down, Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/best-man-down)\n12. ['Best Man Down' Review: One Wedding, One Funeral, Zero Appeal, TheWrap (2013)](https://www.thewrap.com/best-man-review-one-wedding-one-funeral-zero-appeal/)\n13. [Review: Best Man Down (2013), Sounds of Cinema](https://soundsofcinema.com/review-archive/review-best-man-down-2013/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2012*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Best Man Down\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Best Man Down](https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down](https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Best Man Down\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/best-man-down. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Best Man Down is a 2012 American comedy-drama, also known by its working title Lumpy, written and directed by Ted Koland." }