| Dir. Roberto Rodriguez, Country, Year, 89 mins
Cast: Jimmy Bennett, William H. Macey, James Spader
Review by Carol Allen This is one of Rodriguez's family films, as opposed to his stylish and violent ones for adults, and it is very much a family inspired affair, taking on board ideas from his own five children, some of whom also have small roles in the movie.
The film is told as a series of linked episodes (shorts), which spool back and forth in order, based on the way that kids like Rodriguez's consume their visual entertainment, and it moves at a brisk lick to suit the pace of today's video generation. At the centre of it is a magical rainbow coloured rock, which can grant wishes for whoever is holding it. And as in all fantasies where wishes are granted, you have to be careful what you wish for, as it never turns out the way you think it will. So for example when 11 year old Toe (Bennett), who's bullied by his schoolmates, wishes he had some friends, they turn up in the form of little alien creatures, who create no end of trouble trying to serve their young master. When Toe's sister (Kat Dennings) tells her boyfriend to "grow up", he does just that and becomes a giant, while Toe's friend Nose (Jake Short) inadvertently creates the Booger Monster from the pickings of his own nose. A lot of the humour is of course at child level - this is after all a movie for kids.
There is though some satirical fun for adults. The setting of the film is Black Falls, a suburban development dominated by the Black Box company, who manufacture communication gadgets. The inhabitants of Black Falls are also virtually owned by the company - they all work for it, the company owns their homes and their lives are in thrall to the company and their dependence on its products. Toe's parents (Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer) hardly talk to each other, preferring to communicate through texts and e-mail. And when through the rainbow rock they wish they were closer to each other, they find themselves literally joined at the hip, as it were. One of the most memorable contributions comes from William H. Macey as Nose's dad, whose obsessive fear of germs cause him to protect himself and his son by encasing them and their house in a plastic shell to create a germ free environment. So imagine his horror when the dirty Booger Monster gets in. Spader is virtually unrecognisable as the all powerful corporate head of Black Box, Carbon Black. Either he's aged dramatically and put on a lot of weight or the make up artist is a master of the art. Also watch out for Jolie Vanier as his daughter Helvetica, one of the kids who bullies Toe but who secretly rather likes him. She's a bit reminiscent of the young Christina Ricci in "The Addams Family". |
