Mr. Pig

A pretty tragic story actually. This is the first Diego Luna directed film I've seen and I think he has some interesting things to say. Especially about the subject on how animals are treated and cared for.

I've always liked Danny Glover as an actor and he was really good in this one. The care he has for his best friend, the pig Howard, was very nice and heartfelt. That is what really made the movie. The fact that he wants Howard to have a nice home was a sweet gesture and I really cared for the bond they had.

The locations are good and the plot is simple and straightforward. It's a road movie too and I really like that genre. There's something very genuine and relate-able about them. The movie surprised me and I never thought I would care so much for a man and his pig on a road trip. I didn't want anything bad to happen to them.

Well acted,well written story about end of life told in an affectionate way. Good portrayals by Maya Rudolph and Danny Glover.

Danny Gloves doesn't usually sign onto movies with so little to offer in the way of action/intrigue, so it was rather sad to see him floundering around trying to salvage something from this script. The relationship with his daughter doesn't ring true at all, and while we are supposed to feel sympathy toward his character there's an unshakeable fact that he's just not likeable. Everybody relates to one another in simple formulatic and cliche manners. Very dull. It takes a rare movie to take tremendous talent like this and come up with a dud.

Danny Glover turns in a heartfelt performance in Mr Pig. I enjoyed the film a great deal. Maya Rudolph is also very good as his somewhat estranged and worried daughter; although we don't see her until the film is about 2/3's over. Prior to that the audience only hears muffled snatches of their phone conversations. I feel the director should have cut to her at least once earlier in the film.

Some things don't make sense (i.e. - How does one get across the American/Mexican border without anyone inquiring as to the gigantic hog in the back of the station wagon?) The father and daughter have numerous issues to resolve and none of these come easy as Ambrose (Mr Glover) very much marches to his own drummer. The Mexican scenery is lovely and the supporting characters all fit in perfectly.

Excellent actors but unfortunately they could not save a boring script and lackluster directing. Could the story have been told better? Yes, I think so. For me, it just seemed like the writers and the director didn't really try. It just felt like everyone was simply going through the motions in a film that needed passion and talent to make it exceptional.