Mail Order Monster - Mein neuer Bester Freund

Bullying is prevalent these days. Loss is hard to discuss with children. An if you're like me, entering a family that is already established but the parents have split or passed away, it can be hard to figure out your place.

This film covers all of that but in a way that's easily digestible for the kids. The girl in the film is outstanding and portrays so much of the emotions of her character without words. We see her character's struggle.

The adult actors are amazing as well. They are all believable in the relationships with each other and there is a great chemistry between them all.

The story is well written and directed. It's a relatable film that viewers will connect with on many levels. Great for children and adults.

I blipped through this movie and found it mildly interesting while quite cliche'd. The cast was full of unknowns, at least to me, and I consider myself a moderate movie buff. The acting was ok, particularly the young lead. Rest of the cast, and the script was fairly predicable and rote. What I found particularly interesting was the multitude of 10/10 reviewers, all of whom found this to be the Greatest Movie Ever Made, or close to it. One apparently astute reviewer noted that these top drawer reviews mainly came from the film makers, and people closely associated with the production. One even self-identified as the film's creator while writing a very positive, albeit short, review. A reviewer remarked that people with an obvious agenda should not consider themselves as independent.

This movie is so great! It is sweet, funny and tackles many current issues for families and kids. It is also different, something you haven't seen before- so I think kids of all ages will enjoy it!

I had the opportunity to sit down here late in 2022 to watch the 2018 family movie "Mail Order Monster". And of course I did so, because I had neither heard about the movie nor ever seen it before. So yeah, I opted to give director Paulina Lagudi Ulrich's movie a chance.

Writers Marc Prey and Paulina Lagudi Ulrich did actually manage to put together a wholesome script and storyline here. And there is actually a deeper and more profound meaning and message to the storyline than just a family movie about a girl and her robot. So there is something for viewers of all ages that sit down to watch "Mail Order Monster".

I was familiar with Charisma Carpenter and Josh Hopkins in the movie, but I have to admit that I was really impressed with the performance of leading actress Madison Horcher. She really put on a great performance and a very believable and convincing performance, and she gave the movie so much life and entertainment value.

"Mail Order Monster" turned out to be a rather enjoyable movie. However, it is hardly a movie that warrants more than just a single viewing, as there isn't all that many layers to the storyline. So I doubt that I will ever return to watch "Mail Order Monster" a second time.

My rating of "Mail Order Monster" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Having lost her mother in a tragic car accident 3 years previously, a young girl named "Samantha 'Sam' Pepper" (Madison Horcher) lives with a feeling of guilt that she indirectly caused it by creating a disturbance in the back seat resulting in the fatal crash. As might be expected in someone that young, Sam essentially shut everyone out at the time which then alienates her from her best friend "P. J." (Emma Rayne Lyle) who was also in the car when the fatal crash occurred. Because of this aloofness, P. J. takes it personally and 3 years later has developed into a bully who now delights in tormenting Sam mercilessly in school. For her part, Sam does her best to put up with it. Unfortunately, after one particularly bad day, Sam becomes overwhelmed with emotion and, as a result, she decides to order a monster robot from a magazine to somehow get back at her tormentor. What she doesn't realize, however, is that the robot becomes hardwired into believing that both "P. J." and Roy's new fiancé "Sydney Hart" (Charisma Carpenter) are bad--and this causes problems for everyone involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie had a decent plot and also featured an outstanding performance by Madison Horcher. The main problem I had with it concerned the rather cheap-looking robot which was simply too ridiculous to be taken seriously. Now, I realize that this was a family movie and things needed to be toned down to a certain extent. But having said that, I thought the director (Paulina Lagudi Ulrich) overdid it to a great degree and I have rated this movie accordingly. Slightly below average.