Where to begin with this one? I honestly tried to enter this movie with an open mind, but the convoluted plot, the terrible set of characters and the fact that this "comedy" just isn't funny made this "open mindness" quite difficult to maintain.
First of all, the story is all over the place. The central plot and McGuffin aren't all too bad, in fact, it could have been quite interesting if done right. Too bad it isn't. It's all overly convoluted and the story just isn't presented well at all. Besides the pure incompetence (?) of not being able to provide an engaging, comprehendable story, a family comedy does not feel like the right forum for this type of plot. Even if done well it would've felt a bit over-the-top. I could (and should!) have been done waaay more simple. The convoluted main story together with the completely unnecessary side stories also made the runtime overly long. The 2 hours felt like 5.
Talking about unnecessary side plots: let's talk characters, because this movie is full of them, and few of them fill any kind of function. Most characters are paper-thin and completely lack any kind of personality. Paper-thin characters are unarguably common in silly comedies, so that's not my criticism per se, but when you are using such flat characters for emotional scenes like this movie does it just turn out embarrassing and cringey. The movie and its characters simply do not deserve these kind of scenes. They feel awkwardly misplaced. The movie is also full of unmotivated character reactions and illogical character decisions, and on top of it all, almost none of the characters are likeable and funny. The cast itself is good, but they're either horribly miscast or has got nothing to do, of either value or comedic effect.
All of this would have been okay to some degree if the movie itself was funny, but it just isn't, and I can't see too many disagreeing with me on that note. A few smirks here and there, one or two laughs, but that's about it. It's not "cosy", exciting, or presents an interesting message either, so what is there left to enjoy?
As long as this isn't the first movie you've ever seen, and are mesmerized with all the pretty colors and moving pictures, you will probably noy get anything out of it. It's a complete train wreck. An unfunny such.
