It finally happened! After weeks of seeing interesting movies come and go in theaters without having the time or the funds to go see them, I finally managed to get away to the movies. Because there was no way in hell I was going to miss this one.We saw it on a real IMAX screen at a mammoth yuppie megaplex that was surrounded by Joe's Crab Shacks and Dave and Buster's-type places, right in the middle of upper-middle-class mallville, but none of that matters, because from the moment the title card hit, I knew I was going to love this movie. And love it I did. Unabashedly and with tears in my eyes. It is one of the most beautiful movies about childhood I've ever seen, and while it's rated PG, it never once dumbs down the emotional story for children, and never once takes the easy way of crass humor and fart jokes. It's a big, rough-and-tumble love letter to childhood pain and imagination.
Judging by my girlfriend's son's response to the movie ("Eh...it was all right."), it speaks more to folks who can take an honest look back at their youth, rather than to kids actually experiencing that youth, so in that respect, it's not really a kids' film. There's plenty here for a smart, aware young person to enjoy, but the sadness that pervades the film is of the sort that's really going to sock 30-somethings in the gut while possibly confusing or boring their kids.
While that's too bad, this isn't one of those reviews that's going to fault a movie for not bending over backwards to keep Ritalin-addled squirmers entertained (as almost every negative review has). The movie isn't for them. If they like it, fine. But make no mistake: this is a movie for grown-ups. It's rated PG because it doesn't have anything offensive in it, not because it was tailor-made for your little snot-noses, and if you approach it from that perspective, there is a wealth of wonder and beauty to be found in here.
Max Records is a true find as the wild-child Max, and the vocal performers deliver across-the-board wonderful performances that will make you want to phone the Academy and demand once and for all a Goddamn vocal performance Oscar. It's ridiculous that this rare skill isn't recognized.
This is a movie that bears the evidence of its loving hand-made-ness about it from beginning to end, and if Spike Jonze never made another movie, it would stand as his masterpiece.
If you don't see it on the big screen while you can, you're robbing yourself of one of 2009's great cinema experiences.
6 comments:
thanks for the review. This one is on my must-see list, also. Although it seems like I'll be going to see it alone. My wife isn't interested and from what you say and what else I've heard, there's not much sense bringing the kids along.
And I have to ask, have you seen Zombieland? Becuase without seeing Where the Wild Things are, Z-land is THE best movie of 2009.
@redmosquito I missed ZOMBIELAND due to lack of money/time, but I'm not too upset about it. It'll still kill on DVD if it's as good as everybody says.
I thought that Spike Jonze missed out on a great opportunity to make something that would be meaningful to adults and children alike; almost the entire movie seemed like nonsense to me
@Samantha K
It was nonsense, actually. The best kind of nonsense, filtered through a prism of childlike imagination and frustration. This movie might be baffling some people now, and it might now be making a killing at the box office, but this is the sort of film that people fall in love with, and it will eventually be considered just as beloved and vital as the picture-book that inspired it.
Kevin, I love your review and am so happy that someone else other than myself saw it for what it was! It brought me to tears as well. It was gorgeous in every aspect, from the photography, to the sound, to the music (Karen O & The Kids - AMAZING soundtrack!) It took my breath away from beginning to end! Great review!
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