A Mother’s Final Request Pushes Siblings Outside of Their Comfort Zones in Comedy ‘Braking for Whales’

Sandra Miska

Tom Felton, an actor known for playing an array of villains, including Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series, shows his more vulnerable side in the indie comedy “Braking for Whales.” Felton stars as Brandon Walker, an Iowa resident who reunites with his oddball sister, Star (Tammin Sursok), following the death of their mother. Mom passed before the start of the story, but the viewer comes to learn that she was a rather eccentric woman, a free spirit, but nothing can prepare Brandon, Star and the audience for her final request, which is to have her ashes interred inside of a whale. What happens next is a road trip in which the siblings must work through their issues with each other, as well as their own inner demons.

Brandon and Star are, of course, polar opposites. He’s a repressed gay Republican whose part of some sort of ex-gay cult, while she says whatever’s on her mind and is perfectly comfortable asking her brother questions like when was the last time he masturbated. And as an extra quirk thrown in, she has an intense sexual crush on former POTUS George W. Bush, despite her liberal political leanings. On the surface, Star may seem carefree, but she has her own self-loathing to deal with, self-loathing that stems from her losing custody of her daughter. 

Predictably, there are bumps along the way during the multiple-day journey to the aquarium, and the highlight of the film is when Brandon and Star stop off at the home of their socially conservative Aunt Jackie and her equally reactionary husband, Randal, played by two seasoned comedy pros, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Daivd Koechner. Auntie Jackie has a dedicated shrine to Dubya, which leads to a rather embarrassing situation for Star when she finds herself stressed and unable to sleep in the middle of the night.

Not all road trip movies can be “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” and “Braking for Whales” falls into the same trap that a lot of these types of movies do, as the characters seem to lose sight of the end goal during their trip. In the beginning, they receive this insane request from their dead mother to feed her ashes to the whales, yet there’s virtually no mention of it from the time they get on the road until they reach the aquarium.

After much nudging from his sister, Brandon refuses to open up his sexualty, but he is forced to confront it at a small-town bar after he finds himself flirting with a local man, J.T. (Austin Swift, Taylor Swift’s brother). Outside the bar, J.T. makes a move, which leads to an argument that ends with Brandon brutally beating him. It’s a shocking act of violence that feels out of place in what is otherwise a quirky comedy. However, what follows is a heartbreaking scene in which Brandon deals with what he did, with Felton exhibiting some fine acting.

At the end of the road, Felton gives a decent performance that will leave the viewer wanting to see different facets of him in feature roles. He has a fun chemistry with Sursok, who also gives a satisfying, more high-energy performance that is amusing to watch if one can get past the Aussie actress’s shaky American accent.

“Braking for Whales” is available April 24 on VOD.