The Baxter

The Baxter is a 2005 American comedy film written by, directed by and starring comedian Michael Showalter. A "Baxter", as defined by the film, is the nice, dull guy in a romantic comedy who is dumped at the end of the story for the protagonist. Much light humor is made of showing Showalter as a "Baxter" in several typical romantic comedy clichés: being abandoned at the altar as a former love is claimed by her high school sweetheart, and being left in college at a pep rally for an underdog sports hero. The plot revolves around the life of Elliot Sherman during the two weeks before his wedding, as he doggedly fights off the curse of his former Baxter role in relationships. IFC Films financed the film and produced it with Plum Pictures. They gave the film a very limited release; it had a U.S. box office gross of $181,872. Plot Elliot, a tax accountant from Brooklyn, is a dependable though thoroughly average young man doomed to be the "Baxter", the nice guy who's bound to lose the girl to the leading man in romantic comedies. Losing three girlfriends to last-minute rekindled relationships with their ex-boyfriends has made Elliot wary of being abandoned yet again.