The comic neo-noir “Cut Bank” is a far cry from the TV series “Fargo,” whose mixture of the zany and surreal this film strains to recapture right down to featuring two of that show’s stars, Billy Bob Thornton and Oliver Platt. The previous credits of its director, Matt Shakman, include the last two episodes of “Fargo.”

Cut Bank is a small Montana town of around 3,000 residents that welcomes visitors with an oversize plaster penguin announcing it is the coldest spot in the United States. This movie’s smart-aleck rehash of much better films by the Coen brothers and David Lynch looks down at Cut Bank as a town of yokels and eccentrics whose misplaced sense of civic pride is embodied by that penguin. Another cheap shot is a clumsy ear-grating performance of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” at the annual Miss Cut Bank pageant. The comedy comes fitfully alive when Bruce Dern, in a glaring, teeth-gnashing performance as a crazy coot, is on the screen. His character, Georgie Wits, is the larcenous, not-so-friendly mailman in a town crawling with kooks. Foremost among these loonies is Derby Milton (Michael Stuhlbarg), a recluse with a stammer and Coke-bottle lenses, who on his rare appearances in town, surprises the locals by his very existence. More than once, he hears the exclamation, “I thought you were dead.” Derby, when riled, can be quite vindictive. Another, less extreme eccentric is the straight-arrow sheriff (John Malkovich), who carries around a rabbit’s foot and is so leery of violence that he vomits at the sight of gore.

Image Bruce Dern in "Cut Bank." Credit... A24 Films

The bodies begin to topple when an apparent murder takes place in the background while Dwayne McClaren (Liam Hemsworth), a young mechanic, is shooting a video in which his sweetheart, Cassandra (Teresa Palmer), extols the charms of Cut Bank. (Dwayne is desperate to escape town with Cassandra, whose stern father is played by Mr. Thornton.) In the distance behind Cassandra, Georgie’s mail truck appears, followed by a vehicle whose driver shoots him.