Home Review

I've been hearing that Dreamworks is not doing so well these days. The animated features they have released over the last couple of years that were not sequels to already successful franchises were box office flops; Rise of the Guardians, Turbo, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman did pretty poorly. Their latest film, Home (2015), is has been doing quite well in the box office. I wasn't thrilled to see it after seeing it's  mediocre trailer, but some friends invited me to see it with them and I ended up enjoying it a whole lot!

After a hive-minded alien race called the Boov conquer Earth, lead by Captain Smek (Steve Martin). The Boov relocate the planet's human population -- all except for a little girl named Tip (Rihanna), who has managed to hide from the aliens. When Tip meets a fugitive Boov named Oh (Jim Parsons), there's mutual distrust. However, Oh is not like his comrades; he craves friendship and fun. As their distrust fades, the pair set out together to find Tip's mother, but, unbeknown to them, the Gorg -- enemies of the Boov -- are en route.

Home has some good and bad things going for it, though frankly the bad points are easy to forgive. The story is predictable; anyone over the age of 10 will see the plot twists from a mile away. I daresay it's a formulaic family movie that is about, surprise surprise, family. The character designs and action tends to be pretty darn creative. I can't think of another instance where our protagonists hide from aliens in a flying car powered by convenience store junk food or drive soap bubbles to outrun the Eiffel Tower. Conventional as the story and its structure may be, it ends up being a fun, simple delight to watch. Even as the end of the movie approached, I didn't fully anticipate the final plot twist; so it's not as if it fails completely in this regard.

The real strength comes from the dialogue. The exchanges between Tip and Oh are simply hilarious. Even though she is a kid, Tip is self confident and a bit on the sassy side. Oh is a mess of contradictions; he wants to socialize and have friends, but he's demonstrably not good at it; he wants to live comfortably, but is somewhat uptight. On top of that, Oh's speech patterns are a little inaccurate, but in a charming and amusing way. This makes for some funny scenes between the two characters. In one of their early encounters, Tip locks Oh in a convenience store walk in refrigerator. A little hurt by being trapped, Oh asks, "What for are you did this? I am Boov, beloved of all humans." "I know what you are." Tip replies coldly. "Excellent. Can I come into the out now?" Nearly everything Oh says is amusing on some level.

In another hilarious scene Tip turns on some music which causes involuntary physical responses from Oh. In a panic Oh says, "Confusion. What is happening to my body?" "It's called dancing." Tip explains. "Boovs do not dancing." "I can tell. But you're getting the hang of it." "How long before this kills me? I am not in control of my own extremities." Tip tries to encourage Oh, "That's it. Work it." "I do not want it to work." "Hey, you know what? Boov rhymes with groove. Shake your Boov thing." "It is shaking in a most undignified way. Oh no, my hands are in the air as if I just do not care. This is not how a Boov behaves." The two characters are lots of fun and bounce off of each other delightfully. They are so fun to watch together that it tends to overshadow the predictability of the story.

This is a family movie that talks about how great families are. This is an overused theme that essentially every family movie has used for decades, but it keeps being used because it's a nice message that we like to believe in. But "families are great" isn't the only thing that this movie addresses; it beautifully weaves together many themes which makes it more interesting. It tackles ideas like what defines a home, taking things versus being given things, communication, understanding things from another's perspective, mutual respect, sacrifice for others, and how deeply the emotional bonds to one's family are. I think I've seen such thematic elements achieved more successfully by other movies, but this one addresses many of them together in a succinct and logical way without beating you over the head with it. It made the movie even better, and even touching at times.

I had low expectations for Home. thanks to an advertising campaign that focused more on funny characters acting silly and making pop culture references than it did on boasting its good animation, charming characters, multilayered themes, or even the plot. The poor advertisements and trailers notwithstanding,  Home has done quite well in the box office. I think this is worth the cost of a matinee ticket if it perks your interest; it was better than I expected it to be. I may not go out of my way to get my own copy, but I'm glad I saw it. It's worth renting at the very least.

Some family movies about families are so painfully trope ridden and cliche they are painful to watch. What's another family movie about families that really did a good job? Comment below and tell me about it!

The Jerk Review

Having the weird sense of humor that I do, I admit I don't always enjoy comedies. The Jerk (1979) is considered one of the top 100 funniest movies according to the American Film Institute, and I still hear references to it now and then. I finally got around to watching it the other day, and I did think parts of it was funny.

Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) begins his story by telling us "I was born a poor black child." Raised by a black family in Mississippi he learns the shocking truth that he was adopted. Never having the rhythm for music that his family has, he one evening finds himself instinctively tapping his feet to an easy listening tune on the radio instead of a low-down blues. donning a World War II bomber helmet and goggles, Navin takes to the road to start a new life in St. Louis. Upon arriving, a gas station owner, Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason) gives Navin his first break and hires him to pump gas. One day at the station Navin has a brainstorm, concocting an invention called "The Opti-Grab," A combination handle and nose-brace for eyeglasses. Navin runs into trouble when a crazed gunman (M. Emmet Walsh) picks out his name at random from the telephone book and tries to kill him. Navin escapes to a traveling carnival, where he wrangles a job as the "guess-your-weight" man. At the carnival, he begins dating the stunt driver and S&M enthusiast Patty Bernstein (Catlin Adams). But Navin meets the beautiful Marie (Bernadette Peters) and he quickly falls in love. In the meantime, the "Opti-grab" has taken off and soon Navin is a millionaire.

Comedies are tricky to review. What people find funny is subjective and differs greatly from person to person. Even I admit I have a weird sense of humor. I think there are basically two types of comedy; you either laugh at something that's funny because it looks silly (i.e. wearing WWII bomber helmet and goggles to hitchhike to St. Louis) or you laugh at something for the underlying reason that such antics are happening. Sure, it's kind of funny but if the punch line is simply "he looks silly wearing that hat" the humor is kind of weak. The why isn't addressed; The Jerk just wants us to laugh at the gags at the most basic level. By wearing a silly hat no plot point is made and nothing is said about the character. It's just silliness for the sake of silliness. Analyzing humor won't get anyone anywhere, though. Humor is very subjective and if I laugh at something and you don't, no amount of my logic is going to convince you that it was funny. That said, I laughed a few times at the comical antics; fewer than I'm sure the movie would have liked from its audience. It averages out to be an "okay" comedy in my book.

The Jerk is based on Steve Martin's stand-up comedy routines. He had made a few cameos in movies up to this point, but The Jerk was his first starring film role. Navin is supposed to be an 18-year-old boy venturing out to make his way in the world. Part of the irony is that he's still played by Steve Martin who was about 37 at the time. I'm starting to doubt if that man ever had hair any color other than white. Martin brings a very energetic vibe to his character; he plays a very innocent, naive, and often times downright stupid character with unfailing optimism. Although he didn't actually write the script, the character is a creation of Martin's and no one else could have played this role with such enthusiasm.

Back in 1984, a crazy new movie rating was released to indicate a movie that was above PG, but not quite as bad as R. The first movie to be released with the PG-13 rating was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Having said that, The Jerk is rated R, but today its content would have been earned a PG-13 rating, that rating simply didn't exist back in 1979. There's is some profanity, alcohol and marijuana use, and partial nudity in one scene when Nevin is trying to cover himself up with his pet dog. There is implied sex, but it's never shown on screen. There is also a scene with a nude painting in the background.  None of the content is graphic or suggestive enough in my opinion to have earned it an R rating today. Interpret that how you will, I just think it's interesting how film content and movie ratings have changed over the years.

The Jerk is a funny movie. It didn't have me falling out of my seat laughing, but it got me to chuckle a few times. It was fun seeing Steve Martin in one of his earliest roles. The story is pretty random and goes all over the place. The characters are funny, but shallow. It averages out to be an "okay" comedy movie. I'm glad I saw it because it's a classic worthy of a few laughs. It's probably not something I would go out of my way to see a second time. Like I said, it really wants you laugh at the gags at their most basic level. I recommend it only if you really like comedies, are a fan or Steve Martin, or appreciate classic movies.

What's your favorite Steve Martin role? Comment below and tell me why!