"Eagle vs Shark" is an awkward romantic comedy. In fact it's probably 80 percent awkward, 10 percent romantic and 10 percent comedy. New Zealand creator Taika Waititi shows us the deadpan humor side of love, a style reminiscent of HBO New Zealander comedy series "Flight of the Conchords," (which stars Jemaine Clement, the lead male in "Eagle") only this is less funny. It's cute and good for a few chuckles, but not funny enough to truly endear us to its main characters, Jarrod and Lily.
The film begins on the boy-meets-girl premise, with Lily (Loren Horsley) scoping out a particularly unattractive Jarrod at her place of work, a fast food restaurant. After she's fired for seemingly no good reason, she goes to Jarrod's "dress as your favorite animal" party where she lets him beat her in a video game tournament. The two hook up despite Jarrod's awkward advances and their romance quickly takes them to the town where Jarrod grew up, where he has plans to fight his childhood bully -- and ultimately some inner demons.
The shift from focusing on Lily to being about Jarrod coming to terms with some family and self-confidence issues is slightly unexpected. The title gives the impression the two will be at odds and that this will be the main source of conflict, but it ends up being about how Lily, seeking desperately to be swept away by love, hits an obstacle because the apple of her eye is an immature Napoleon Dynamite rip-off. Ultimately, love is never simple or easy, but it works out if it's meant to.
Clement, had Napoleon Dynamite never existed, would have come off as quite hilarious in this movie. However, the nunchuks thing has indeed been done, so Jarrod's social inadequacy seems more stale than funny or worthy of sympathy. We do feel bad the way his father ignores him, but he doesn't do anything to really capture our hearts. Neither does Lily, but she comes close. Horsley's pretty green eyes aren't quite enough to hide her underdeveloped loneliness. She's more pitiable than Jarrod, but the deadpan style of the film undercuts our understanding of their emotions.
Deadpan works for comedy, but Waititi carries it over into the drama too much, sucking the potential for conflict right out of it. When that happens, the director shoulders more responsibility to convey emotions through images. Waititi's script has a few really nice moments, but much of the symbolism meant to do the job of making us feel is too abstract and forced. The eagle symbolism is over-pushed and the animated apple scenes even more so. It captures the independent spirit of the film, but it's not cleverly worked into the script to make us feel as if it belongs.
"Eagle vs Shark" is nice, but it's a bit too bland to really get a reaction from its audience. Even though the blandness is meant for humor, a film that clearly has a big heart shouldn't let that style cheat it out of becoming meaningful.
The film begins on the boy-meets-girl premise, with Lily (Loren Horsley) scoping out a particularly unattractive Jarrod at her place of work, a fast food restaurant. After she's fired for seemingly no good reason, she goes to Jarrod's "dress as your favorite animal" party where she lets him beat her in a video game tournament. The two hook up despite Jarrod's awkward advances and their romance quickly takes them to the town where Jarrod grew up, where he has plans to fight his childhood bully -- and ultimately some inner demons.
The shift from focusing on Lily to being about Jarrod coming to terms with some family and self-confidence issues is slightly unexpected. The title gives the impression the two will be at odds and that this will be the main source of conflict, but it ends up being about how Lily, seeking desperately to be swept away by love, hits an obstacle because the apple of her eye is an immature Napoleon Dynamite rip-off. Ultimately, love is never simple or easy, but it works out if it's meant to.
Clement, had Napoleon Dynamite never existed, would have come off as quite hilarious in this movie. However, the nunchuks thing has indeed been done, so Jarrod's social inadequacy seems more stale than funny or worthy of sympathy. We do feel bad the way his father ignores him, but he doesn't do anything to really capture our hearts. Neither does Lily, but she comes close. Horsley's pretty green eyes aren't quite enough to hide her underdeveloped loneliness. She's more pitiable than Jarrod, but the deadpan style of the film undercuts our understanding of their emotions.
Deadpan works for comedy, but Waititi carries it over into the drama too much, sucking the potential for conflict right out of it. When that happens, the director shoulders more responsibility to convey emotions through images. Waititi's script has a few really nice moments, but much of the symbolism meant to do the job of making us feel is too abstract and forced. The eagle symbolism is over-pushed and the animated apple scenes even more so. It captures the independent spirit of the film, but it's not cleverly worked into the script to make us feel as if it belongs.
"Eagle vs Shark" is nice, but it's a bit too bland to really get a reaction from its audience. Even though the blandness is meant for humor, a film that clearly has a big heart shouldn't let that style cheat it out of becoming meaningful.