Small Apartments 2012

Franklin Franklin Matt Lucas is a hairless, overweight, eccentric social misfit whose life centers on Switzerland-obsessed fantasies, a compulsive hoard, and a diet that would challenge any palate—Moxie soda, pickles, and mustard anchor his days. He drifts through a nearly empty apartment in a rundown Southern California complex, his room cluttered with objects of his strange fixation while he moves about in briefs and mismatched socks. He shares this cramped world with a lineup of locals as distinctive as they are disconcerting: Tommy Balls a cynical stoner, Mr. Allspice a neurotic elderly recluse, and Simone an aspiring dancer who lives with her mother, a pairing whose situations might blur lines of romance and dependence.

The plot thickens when the landlord, Mr. Olivetti, dies after a bizarre accident that ties mustard, sneezing fits, and an intimate encounter to a fatal outcome. In a reckless attempt to cover up the death, Franklin drags Olivetti’s body to his house and improvises a staged suicide, deploying an improbable array of supposed methods in a misguided bid to dodge blame. A separate misadventure follows as Franklin’s plan to dump Olivetti’s pickup truck outside the city is foiled by two inept muggers who rob him of more than just his valuables, injecting danger into his already unstable existence.

Meanwhile, Franklin’s life is haunted by the absence of his beloved, albeit enigmatic, older brother Bernard. Franklin eagerly awaits a weekly audiotape from Bernard, only to learn that Bernard has died from a brain tumor. Within Bernard’s belongings lies a locker key and a recorded message that reveals a startling truth: Bernard had stolen from his employer and, in a hidden Swiss bank account, left Franklin savings plus a passport bearing a new identity. This revelation reframes Franklin’s world, turning his hero into a complicated figure whose shadow looms large as he grapples with newfound possibilities.

Fire investigator Burt Walnut [Billy Crystal] and a team of detectives quickly tease out that Olivetti’s death was staged, issuing an APB for the missing pickup truck. The case narrows to Franklin as law enforcement watches his every move, even as he interacts with the other residents who are forced to confront their own pasts—Allspice’s wife’s death years earlier, and the tense, fragile dynamics inside the building.

On the professional front, the tension between truth and self-preservation pushes Franklin toward a life-changing decision. He boards a flight to Switzerland, seated beside Dr. Sage Mennox [Dolph Lundgren], a self-help author whom Bernard once idolized and who had publicly belittled him in the past. The encounter becomes charged with old resentments as Franklin reveals the truth about his brother’s death and the mountains of misconception surrounding it. Mennox is caught off guard by the revelation, and their cramped, awkward companionship during the long journey crystallizes the uneasy alliance formed in moments of vulnerability.

In a scene that hints at the miles of distance Franklin’s choices have placed between him and his former life, the two travelers navigate a tense, unspoken confrontation that binds them for the duration of the flight. The journey ends with a symbolic image: Franklin, in Switzerland, stands before the iconic Matterhorn, surrounded by three women in traditional Swiss dress, a visual that implies transformation, possibility, and perhaps reconciliation with the twists and turns of a life that has never quite fit the mold.

Throughout, the film maintains a dry, understated tone that lets Franklin’s offbeat quirks and the absurdity of the circumstances carry the narrative. It threads dark humor with moments of genuine pathos, painting a portrait of a man who clings to a dream of Switzerland even as his world spirals through misadventures, legal tangles, and a long-awaited reckoning with the past. The supporting players—[Tommy Balls], [Mr. Allspice], [Simone], and the others—provide a chorus of unusual lives that intersect with Franklin’s in ways that sharpen the story’s themes of delusion, loyalty, and the fragile line between self-preservation and self-destruction.