Raising Flagg (2007)

When viewer attention wanders — and it will — in this slack, homespun synthetic yarn about an ornery Oregon handyman (Alan Arkin) who takes to bed in a fit of woebegone peevishness, meditate on this: The coot's wife is played by Barbara Dana, who was married to Arkin for decades; they made Raising Flagg after they divorced. And the two played the same characters 20 years ago in A Matter of Principle, also directed by Neal Miller and co-written by Miller and his wife. Too bad the offscreen intrigue doesn't make up for what flags in Flagg. C+