American cinema has been churning out slacker movies for what seems like eons — to the point where some of us are begging for mercy — so it's refreshing to report that "Somebody Up There Likes Me" enlivens the genre with a welcome breath of imagination, wit and charm.

This is a briskly paced, well acted, smartly scripted and surprisingly complex comedy about Max Youngman, an aptly named waiter who can't grow up, both literally and figuratively.

Thanks (perhaps) to a magical, mysterious suitcase, the mop-head Max never physically or emotionally changes over the course of 35 years, a clever conceit that fits his character perfectly.

Max slacks his way through life as everyone else changes around him. Though Max is drolly pathetic (this is a slacker movie, after all), Keith Poulson brings so much appeal and sly humor to the role that we happily go along for the ride as he bumbles his way through a life that is quickly passing him by.

It never hurts that Poulson is teamed up with Nick Offerman ("Parks & Recreation"), who plays his best friend, Sal. Offerman is deadpan, caustic and hilarious — even at a crucial graveyard scene in which promising director Bob Byington captures just the right tone.

In the end, there are some loose ends involving that magical suitcase, but life isn't always so tidy, either. This is a fine film that will appeal to slackers and non-slackers alike.