Eagle vs Shark

I really liked this film, I went into thinking it was going to be an off beat comedy with no real substance. Surprisingly it was not only a comedy it actually had a plot and significant character ark. I think that is what really separates it from Napoleon Dynamite which also explores outsiders. In this film the characters grow and recognize things about themselves. The humor is still very much there and the actors do a great job with their characters. There is also some really cool cinematography and animation in the film that was an unexpected bonus. The scenery was really amazing it made me want to go to New Zealand! I would highly recommend this film. It was really entertaining for me and I really liked the accents!

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.

"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 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).

Cute, quirky film. I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted and very unique "Romantic Comedy" . Occasionally I was reminded of Napoleon Dynamite, but that is not to say that the content and story was unoriginal. The opening scene was absolutely fantastic, and immediately you are thrilled to find out who this strange girl is, as well as who her crush is. I love that the writer/director made some very non-cliché choices for the characters, it made for some refreshingly shocking fun moments. His actor girlfriend is very talented, and in reality a beautiful girl. This unique film may not be the one you watch dozens of times over, or memorize every single line, but it is certainly one I will see again when it is released.