La fiebre de los peluches Beanie

Wanted to like this, but just didn't feel engaging or interesting for some reason. For one thing, it jumps back and forth in time which just felt confusing when trying to understand the evolution of the beanie baby and how it became popular. Like we literally jump ahead 10 years then back 8 then forward 3 then back 3 again.. ugh.

We also found Zach and Banks both were somewhat jarring in such a strange appearance from their normal look. The dyed brown hair seemed unnatural and just strange that it was distracting. Not a huge deal here but just seemed unnecessarily distracting...

But all in all, the jumping back and forth just never led to a nice, satisfying lead up to their explosion in popularity. It actually made it all feel very anti-climactic.

So, not sure, but just something with how this was put together didn't work for me. Wasn't a fan or engaged in what should be an interesting story..

This is a hell of a story. Great costume design and cinematography. Good acting. Nicely developed characters. Colors play a huge role and are on point. The way the story told is really annoying. While I don't mind the jumping back and forth through the years as long as I know when we're at, there were a few occasions they didn't put the year on and that caused a little timeline confusion. It's a story about a downfall of a vain man-child who couldn't grow up. It's also a story about investing in the dumbest of things. It's a solid 4 star piece that I'll gladly watch again only for the beautiful colors and the great makeup on Zack Galifianakis' face.

When thinking about this review and the movie, I kept getting drawn back to how flamboyant the characters were and then it struck me. I was watching characters apparently 'borrowed' from The Righteous Gemstones. I know it was the 80's but it was a little cartoonish.

The characters are also presented in such a way that shows most of them in a pretty poor light. Except for the Maya character who was presented in the film as the great underbelly of the company.

Has some entertaining moments and is often interesting but lacks any depth perhaps as its presented more as a comedy than a drama or bio film :)

In 1983, Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) and his friend Robbie (Elizabeth Banks) start a plush toy business. His big idea is to under-stuffed them and make them softer. In 1993, medical student Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan) starts working as a receptionist at the company. Sheila (Sarah Snook) meets Ty as she sets up his home lighting.

This type of movies is fast becoming a genre of its own. Some call it corporate biopics. I'm calling it product-bio. First, they need a recognizable product that will generate nostalgia. Then they need some drama for the bio and they should make one up if it doesn't exist. They are good on the first part. Beanie Babies are definite 90's nostalgia-fuel. As for the drama, it exists here. The movie tries to present it in an interesting way by combining three women's stories. I do have an issue with Zach Galifianakis.

I thought he's gay at first even after dating Sheila. He needs to not put his spin on the character. At his heart, he's a slick salesman. He needs to set up his narcissism. The guy has real daddy issues with some juicy sexual aspects. Zach is playing it like an absent-minded professor. He may be the wrong guy to play this role.

The time jumping is fine, but it may be better to simplify it. After all, both Maya and Sheila come into the story at the same time. Maya is probably the most compelling story. I don't see the chemistry between Sheila and Ty. He has more chemistry with her daughters. Robbie's story is standard wronged woman. They really need to show the sexual tension a lot more and earlier. As far as this new genre goes, this entry is an average affair.

The Beanie Bubble is a movie about, well, the Beanie Bubble. It tells the story about their creator and the women who actually were behind everything. It does have multiple POVs and a lot of time jomps, but, once you get used to that, the movie unfolds nicely and its enjoyable to watch. The best part of it was, though, the colors! Bright and vibrant, they did give the movie a nice spin on the old and stuffy historical drama, and they made the movie fun to watch. The performances were also great by everyone in the cast, and the main leads did an excellent job with their characters. Though the story is okay on paper, those two factors did make the difference.