Eagle vs Shark

"Eagle Vs Shark" is the story of two people considered 'losers' by society and how they might...just might...be right for one another. On one hand you have Jerrod, a twelve-year old boy trapped in a man's body who enjoys making candles, plotting revenge on the school bully that ruined his life and playing the video game 'Fight Man'. On the other hand, you have the fragile Lilly who sings songs about tangerines, lets people walk all over her and dreams about how Jerrod (a regular customer at the fast food restaurant where she works) may one day love her.

Creating a quirky, whimsical movie featuring two geeks who are awkward and barely able to function in society is difficult to pull off but New Zealand film maker Taika Watiti manages it. What makes this movie different to many others which focus on similar characters is that "Eagle Vs Shark" never stoops to mocking its characters despite the opportunity to do so. The audience is invited to share in their hopes and defeats, rather than stand back and laugh at their offbeat behaviour. It is a romantic comedy about two characters who are ill-suited to the genre (Lilly wears her shark costume while lying in bed with Jerrod for example).

Whilst both leads are magnificent, Loren Horsley is the real find here. With her wide innocent eyes, crooked smile and shy demeanour, she creates a character which you can truly connect with. Jerrod may be a complete jerk and oblivious to everyone around him but you never doubt that Lilly truly loves him. She's the type of girl who fades into the background of any room and Horsley manages to convey her joy and heartbreak in a way that you really want her to have a happy ending. Jermaine Clement as Jerrod is a lot harder to warm to because of his actions (and inactions) throughout the movie but ultimately you come to share Lilly's faith that the two are right for one another.

It's hard to avoid the comparisons to "Napoleon Dynamite" when reviewing "Eagle VS Shark". The deadpan deliveries of the characters in both movies is similar and the tone is almost identical. It's safe to assume that if you hated "Napoleon Dynamite" then you're absolutely going to loathe "Eagle VS Shark". Everyone else should give this movie a chance. Like the characters it features, it's not perfect but, like love, it's an uplifting experience.

Awkward. Quirky. Wonderful.

Recommended.

I just saw Eagle vs. Shark twice. I went to see it once, and thought it was so awesome that I bought a ticket and went to the very next show. I already know this is going to be one of my favorite movies.

Plain and simple, this is a very awkward love story. It doesn't have a complicated plot, it doesn't have any complicated special effects, but what it does have in abundance is comedy. If you're a fan of Monty Python, The Young Ones, Kids in the Hall, The State, Andy Kaufman, Top Secret, Will Ferrel, 1970's SNL-- this is for you. It's that kind of humor. If you're a fan of films Epic Movie, Eurotrip, Dukes of Hazzard or more mainstream types of humor-- this is not for you.

The second time watching it, I laughed almost harder than the first time, because I kept finding even more details in the background to laugh at. I can already see myself quoting this film with my friends: "I'm too complex!" "She went to a lesbian party." And details like the crazy burger (where the bun is on the inside and the hamburger patties are on the outside) are just so priceless. I want to have an Eagle vs. Shark party and make crazy burgers with everyone, play fightman, and chuck shoes at my friend with a helmet.

But the main surprise of this film is also how emotional it is too. I was laughing out of my seat for the first half hour, then I was completely floored by how much I actually cared about these characters. In this love story-- you see these people who are absolutely perfect for each other (or perhaps absolutely wrong for each other), as they drift apart there's a true feeling of sadness for them. Most comedies of this wackier sort don't actually make me care about what was happening, and both times through I really felt for them.

But the best part is the ending. You might think this film is going to wuss out-- and it's actually unbelievable what happens. I won't ruin it for you, but if you were like me, and an hour into the film had predicted what was going to happen-- you are mistaken! This film ends with a bang and is just incredibly fulfilling. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

I cannot wait to see what their next film is, because it's the ultimate movie for my tastes. At the very least, I look forward to seeing this film over and over again at midnight screenings and on DVD.

Sundance Film Festival Grand Prize nominated film Eagle Vs Shark is a romantic comedy with a twist from New Zealand director Taika Cohen. The film tells the story of two socially awkward misfits; Jarrod(Jemaine Clement), a depressed video game store clerk and Lily(Loren Horsley), a quiet fast food waitress as they fall in love and go to Jarrod's home town where he is planning to get revenge on a high school bully. It is hard not to compare Eagle Vs Shark to US indie hit Napoleon Dynamite as both films' main characters have some similar mannerisms and much of the humour is created from that, however this film has a lot more going for it than the indie success story from Idaho. The character of Jarrod is very well acted and generates a lot of big laughs, but it is the excellent performance from Loren Horsley as Lily that truly makes the film. The audience really cares for her and she is what takes a good comedy film and makes it a great film regardless of genre. Eagle Vs Shark is a very funny, well acted and excellently written film and I would urge anybody to see it if they have the chance.

I saw this movie last night for the AFI Dallas Film Festival. I bought the ticket for this one on a whim and boy am I glad I did. I was expecting something quirky silly as the only New Zealand/Australian films I'm really familiar with are Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom. What I saw was a very cute film about two geeky people trying to find happiness and meaning in their life through love.

It's very easy to be sympathetic towards Lilly, not only is she funny as an awkward person, but she's actually very sweet and quite beautiful when she stands mesmerized by her love interest, Jarrod. And I swear I think I knew Jarrod in High School! I mean, seriously. He looks and acts very similar to someone I went to school with. So much so, that nearly every time he opened his mouth I had to giggle.

The movie had similarities to Napoleon Dynamite in that it starred the same type of awkward social outcasts. But I enjoyed this movie more than ND simply because it focused more on the hope and happiness of Lilly than on angst and anger of Jarrod (who is very similar to the attitude of ND).

Eagle vs. Shark is not another "inspired-by" high school athletic epic but rather a romantic comedy as strange as you will find this year. Actually I had to go back to 1971 with John Cassavetes' Minnie and Moskowitz and Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude to find equivalently eccentric couples meeting the challenges of decidedly unromantic love. Lily (Loren Horsley) is the naïve victim of society's meanness (she loses a job at Meaty Burger, where most of us wouldn't even eat, much less work; Jerrod (Jemaine Clement) is a slacker clerk out of Napoleon Dynamite's class.

This New-Zealand funky romance is partly funded by a fellowship from Sundance, not a guarantee of quality but a sign there might be something more that the initial impression that director Taika Waititi is being condescending to these less than brilliant lovers. After a while, I lost my own condescension and warmed to the simplicity of Lily's love for the obtuse and dorky Jerrod, as well as Jerrod's struggle with his feelings for this lovable flake. I also found comfort as I placed the protagonists in the same lineup with eccentric characters out of the imaginations of Bill Forsythe and David Lynch.

For example, the socially-clumsy Jarrod asks the introverted Lily if she'd like to have sex; she immediately replies, "Yep." The fleeting act, in which it takes longer to affix the condom than to perform, is charmingly innocent and inept.

Most of the family members are either socially unprepared or physically handicapped, a metaphor for the difficulties of social integration for unsophisticated but good-hearted underachievers. The oddball spirit of the film is embodied in the animal-costume party, for which Jarrod hosts as an eagle and Lily arrives as a shark. Thus the title, the endearing characters, and the difficulty deciding if this is an understated farce about the fringes of society or an exaltation of diversity and simplicity. You decide.