kirbyiscute

The Amazing Maurice (2022)

Disappointing

I'll preface this by saying that I haven't read the book this film is based on. However, this film was very average. The main problem with it was that it was trying to be satirical, but did it in the most lazy way possible. The movie literally starts with a different, but connected story being told, and the narrator (Malacia) saying that it's a framing device, and explaining what a framing device is. Throughout the movie, Malacia explains (not as the narrator, but as a character), what storytelling conventions are being used in that scene. The characters get barely any development. In the scene where Malacia and Keith need to fight the rat king, and Malacia puts Keith in charge of playing Peter Piper's pipe to control the rat king. Malacia tells Keith to "use everything you've learned to overcome the final conflict" or something along those lines. To which Keith responds with "I haven't learned anything". I saw this scene and thought "yeah he really hasn't". Another example of the underdeveloped characters hurting the film is when Dangerous beans dies (he is later revived). The film expects us to feel sad about his death, but I couldn't because he was barely developed and we don't get much of a reason to like him. All in all, this film has a promising concept but falls short because of poorly done meta humor and underdeveloped characters.