Kajillionaire

I did enjoy this movie although I'm still not sure what it was about or what its point was.

Evan Rachel Ward painted an interesting character and delivered one of the best sight gag I've seen in a while. The one where they bending low under the fence so the land lord won't see them and she bends backwards. I don't know how she did it but it was pure 3 stooges comedy without the slapping. Loved it.

As mentioned by others the hand to mouth existence was a good and enlightening one. Each day required to get them to the next and so on.

I didn't think I was going to like Gina Rodriguez's character but she totally won me over. She made sense and earned her place and her ray of sunshine delivery and burdened with beauty world weariness was interesting too.

What a great role for Rachel Evan Woods ... of course the supporting actors do their jobs. But it is sort of her role ... and her movie overall. I did not know what to expect and the family she is in, is quite the interesting oddity! And her performance ... just awesome! You can tell from the start.

And it is not the easiest job. She has to walk quite the fine line. Her character is not really likeable! But she is quirky and weird ... and while she (but her parents even more so) does things that could be described as despicable ... we know it is her situation that motivates her. For that, she still seems to have a moral compass ... of sorts. Again very weird and crazy character.

She will clash with a "newcomer", which we can predict ... and also were this will lead to ... still the drama is well played and well acted (no pun intended).

There's no getting away from it: Kajillionaire is an odd film. At first, it seems like a movie made for the sake of being weird, but as its story unfolds, you begin to see the method to Miranda July's madness, with an ultimately touching, bittersweet tale of personal independence making for a memorable watch.

First things first, if you're not party to a little bit of eccentricity and dry humour, you might find Kajillionaire rather inaccessible at first. Undeniably, the film struggles to find its feet in an eye-catching but admittedly dull opening act, as we follow the strange day-to-day exploits of a family of scam artists.

Evan Rachel Wood, Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins are fantastic in those roles, but there's very little to their characters early on, and it takes a while for Kajillionaire to really grab you with any real dramatic depth.

Fortunately, things take a turn for the better with the arrival of Gina Rodriguez, who brings a little bit of sense to an otherwise totally bizarre world. The film retains its offbeat sense of humour, but to have that grounded perspective with Rodriguez's excellent performance really helps you to find an in with this family, and the story begins to work off that really nicely.

Unfolding in thoroughly engaging fashion from then on, Kajillionaire deals with a range of interesting and sobering themes including poverty, neglect, abuse, all with a tinge of odd, dark humour to make it that little bit easier to stomach. Admittedly, the film's stranger side does occasionally undermine some of its more serious ideas, but without that charisma, it would likely have been a far less interesting watch.

Kajillionaire really comes good in its final act, however, where it begins to push the boat in terms of weirdness, but also in real, challenging drama. The run to the finish here features some of the movie's oddest moments, but also some of its most affecting and heart-wrenching ones, as we follow Evan Rachel Wood as she begins to discover the world for herself - away from her parents' unique worldview.

Along with Rodriguez, Wood is really fantastic and brings an impressive dramatic dynamic to a film that can occasionally feel a little emotionally opaque. Again, its themes aren't quite as hard-hitting because of its oddity, but there is real, affecting drama in the film's final stages, and that really caps it off in impressive fashion.

Overall, I liked Kajillionaire. It's not a perfect film, and perhaps doesn't manage to use its capacity for eccentricity to full effect, but there's still a worthy story to be heard here. With great performances, interesting themes and unique humour, it's a memorable, if not undeniably odd watch.

Don't bother with the negative reviews for this one on here. That is if you're not too picky and can enjoy a movie without the urge of being too critical all the time. Kajillionaire is certainly not a bad movie, it's different and sometimes a bit weird, but it's definitely entertaining. The plot is about a disfunctional (or not) family that tries to get by using inventive scams to gather some money. Nothing they will get rich of, just a bunch of lowlife scams that are funny to watch. The family is played by Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger (which I didn't recognize) and Evan Rachel Wood. The whole crew did a good job. Kajillionaire might not be an award winning movie but it's good enough for a good movie night.

The positive reviews understand the emotions of this movie. The negative reviews don't. I thought it was a very unique movie, which is better than the same old fake Hollywood reboots. It's artsy. It's quirky. It's emotional. Evan Rachel Wood was amazing. Perhaps it's love or hate. I loved it.