jesse-20860

As another reviewer pointed out, watching the trailer would lead one to believe this movie is a quirky comedy with eccentric characters. Eccentricity usually comes with some endearing character qualities, which are nowhere to be found in this film. Instead, the characters are unbearably narcissistic and shallow, and the writing leads one to believe this supposedly based-on-a-true-story account was contrived and/or greatly exaggerated in an effort to seek attention through trying to define one's own youth as the most demented of all. It reminds me of some pathological liars I've encountered over the years who always try to outdo other peoples' trauma in order to hoard sympathy and validate their victim complex.

I was recently reminded of this movie and thought it was time to do my part in saving people from wasting a small chunk of their lives watching it. It is the only film I've ever walked out on. Granted, I generally avoid going to movies that don't have good ratings but this is one of those rare cases where the reviews were mixed enough that I was willing to take a chance. In my opinion, the rating is far higher than it should be. You have been warned.

The nostalgia police are out in full force to bash this show but it's actually brilliant. The people who rate it poorly will almost never be satisfied with a remake because their memories of the classics are all viewed through rose colored lenses. People were right about the Willow series, which actually was an unwatchable disaster, but the harsh critics are wrong about this. I have great respect for the integrity of IMDB ratings. I use them to filter out all of the garbage, so if people are going to gang up to distort the quality of a show I'm going to defend it!

Taika Waititi was the best possible choice (other than Terry Gilliam himself, who's now 83) to make this adaptation. His humor is dry and witty but still appropriate for kids 10+. This is not one of his second-rate shows where you can tell he was a passive force in production. It's obvious he's a fan of the original and that he put effort into making this not just entertaining, but also insightful and even a bit educational in that it reveals the all-too-beautifully-flawed humanity of our predecessors throughout history.

The whole family will be laughing out loud at the same jokes, which is not easy to achieve. It requires a bit of wit, whereas so much humor these days takes the easy route of shock or vulgarity for adults or overuse of clichés and/or slapstick for kids. Some parts might be a little scary for younger kids (which is true to the original) but our 12 year old is thoroughly enjoying it.

Kevin was cast well. He'll be relatable to kids who don't fit the popularity mold and prefer reading and utilizing their imagination to climbing the middle school social ladder. Jemaine Clement is amazing in the roll of Wrongness... absolutely hilarious! Waititi is also fantastic in the role of the Supreme Being. The bandits may be of different proportions from those featured in the 80s but that has absolutely no bearing on the quality of their chemistry, and I think Lisa Kudrow does a fine job as well and is funny in her own right.

Our family struggles with a lack of family shows that are entertaining for both kids and adults. We usually end up in some kind of compromise where one or the other party is enjoying the show while the other one sort of loses interest and ends up looking at their phone. This show is one of the rare gems that will have the whole family sharing laughs and wanting more.

This movie is definitely underrated and has a lot of laughs. If you have kids in the 10-13 range they will really enjoy it, especially if you save it for an actual snow day when they're warming up between play sessions outside.

It's also fun for adults to watch with kids and has a great adult cast. I don't usually like Chris Elliot too much but he's perfect for the role of snowplow man. He sort of represents what kids might imagine the snowplow guy to be, some evil wrecker of fun.

I'd say it's better than a made for TV movie for sure... not quite as good as kids' classics like A Christmas Story but it's not trying to be that, even if it is reminiscent in certain moments. Think maybe somewhere between that level of quality and a Disney made for TV movie, throw in some late 80s and early 90s style humor and that's kind of where it lands.