Movie Review - 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Starring Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, and Mr. T Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller Rated PG

What kid never dreamed of flying or going to the moon or inventing something really cool? That's part of being a kid. You don't know yet of the conscription that awaits you, living a life in subway cars or bureaucratic meetings about other bureaucratic meetings or counting calories or making someone else rich. But Flint Lockwood is different from the rest of us. He has refused to grow up and now as a maladjusted adult, tinkers on projects in his own private backyard lab, accessible through a port-a-john. In Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Flint (voiced by Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader) has been nothing but a diasppointment, though he has never given up his dream of becoming the best inventor ever. Clearly, he's not, as the Spray-On Shoes he developed in grade school that are still stuck to his feet 20 years later would indicate. But his hometown is reeling and needs some good news. For decades, it was built on a thriving sardine-exporting business...and then people realized sardines were awful and stopped eating them. That left all the townsfolk with nothing to do but eat all the unwanted sardines, whether that meant baking them, drinking them, or turning sardines into candy. Enter Flint Lockwood, who develops a computer program that will turn water into food. Any food. Cheeseburgers, pizzas, ice cream - you name it. The only problem is that Flint can't really control the vending machine, so instead of making a perfectly grilled steak, the sky rains delicious cuts of meat indiscriminately. The town loves it and is revitalized as a tourist trap. And everyone gets really, really fat. That's not the end of the story, but it's all you need to know. The thing that stands out the most about this film, a loose adaptation of the 1978 children's book of the same name, is how subsersive a lot of it is. Certainly, kids can enjoy it, but as with animated fare like Hoodwink'd, Chance of Meatballs has a much stronger pull for adults. The jokes are more direct, the none-too-subtle media and culture satire is invasive, and the overall tone just isn't meant for six-year-olds. Of course, there's a theory that you can get away with this sort of thing very well in entertainment, which is why there's such a rich history of exactly this sort of thing, from Fritz the Cat to Rocky and Bullwinkle to The Muppets. For the most part, the jokes during the build-up of Flint's story work every time. The last 20 minutes or so, completely dedicated to the logical conclusion, isn't nearly as funny or daring. It could have been, too, which is the worst part of all. The cast is really good: Bill Hader definitely has a future doing this sort of thing, and Anna Faris is almost always funny, as she is here as a nerd-in-hiding meteorologist (or is that meateorologist?). James Caan, playing Flint's less-than-enthusiastic father brings a significant amount of depth to a character that could have been a throwaway, and Mr. T - yep - plays a cop who acts and sounds like Mr. T. This is also another chance to grade 3-D animation and I haven't been significantly impressed by it all year. I didn't love the approach with Coraline, but I have to say, that's really the best example we've seen in 2009. It isn't so much that it doesn't look good - because Up and Monsters vs. Aliens did look good - there's just nothing about the story or its direction that really benefits from you wearing glasses. So save the extra change and just go watch it in the standard format, especially if you have kids. They don't care either way, and the glasses will be a distraction for both of you. Either way, you're likely to have a good time with the film, especially if you're not looking for a literal version of the book.

Comments

[Asana]

"Either way, you're likely to have a good time with the film, especially if you're not looking for a literal version of the book."

Having read the book to my son more than once, I can safely say that a "literal version" of Cloudy would be boring and far from marketable. What's been created in this film however is already fodder for a video game and will no doubt show up in countless toys, apparel, etc. I'm not surprised that a lot of its humor winks in the direction of adults as a lot of kids flicks do the same. Kids will no doubt be enthralled by the spectacle and parents won't be bored to death which translates to win/win.

As for 3D, or the gimmick that will never die, I thought I was the only person little impressed by it. For my money, movies shot in all IMAX (and shown on dome screens) beat 3D anything by miles. IMAX is actually what I felt as the ultimate successor to 3D but its expense has kept it from being widely used. Hopefully technology progresses a bit faster in making IMAX cameras less cumbersome and getting costs down. It's a far better option than trying to reinvigorate interest in donning cardboard glasses to mostly blah effect.

[debt reduction]

Good movie.

[alan vinart]

I absolutely loved this movie (a lot more than inglorious basterds)... and it's based on of the best children's books of all time

[S Johnston]

This movie would have been great - minus the insults about children wearing glasses -- I was unprepared for my 5 year old sweet (glasses wearing) daughter having to endure Sam's comments that she didn't wear her glasses because she was no longer a "nerd", and the comments "unappealing," and "four-eyes.' There should have been a warning that kids in glasses were going to be mocked and insulted in this movie-- an even that Sam accepted wearing glasses in the end because she was a "nerd". Totally offensive and unfair to my daughter. She thanks SONy for giving them her 12 bucks to be ridiculed on what was supposed to a fun Friday night.

[nike air Jordan]

Life just like shoes at our feet. Only wear comfortable, it can help to move forward for you. Believe me, if you want to achieve something in life, you need a pair of good shoes.