The Baxter

The Baxter (2005) is an American romantic comedy written and directed by Michael Showalter — watch it online on iFILM. Elliot Sherman is a tax accountant. Polite, organized, reliably undramatic. He is, as he puts it himself, a "Baxter" — the steady, forgettable guy who gets left at the altar when someone more exciting shows up.

Two weeks before his wedding to the sharp and socially dazzling Caroline (Elizabeth Banks), a woman from Elliot's past drifts back into his orbit. Michelle Williams plays her with a quiet warmth that makes you root for the match from the first scene. Justin Theroux is the inevitable rival. Paul Rudd and Peter Dinklage round out the ensemble in supporting turns that land every time.

Showalter structures the film as a gentle inversion of the rom-com formula — the romantic hero here is the guy who usually loses. It's a small, precise comedy that doesn't ask for more than it earns. Stream The Baxter (2005) on iFILM.