Quirky, when not done right, is really, really grating. This wanted to be offbeat and screwy like Napoleon Dynamite but never closes the deal. The characters are either detestable or remarkably pale that there is nothing to like in this film. Writer/Director Taika Cohen fails to see that simply being quirky isn't enough to sell a story and being odd doesn't make a character interesting.

The story follows Lily (Loren Horsley), a rudderless, mousy loser who hooks up with Jarrod (Jemaine Clement - American audiences may remember him from some Outback Steakhouse commercials from a few years ago). Jarrod is one of the more unlikable characters I've seen in film in quite some time. His crass, rude, over-the-top naccism to hide his insecurty persona is as pleasant as chewing sandpaper. There is reason given for why Lily falls for him let alone remains with him as the two travel across the country to his childhood home. I know of at least one person who enjoyed this film, actually there's plenty of people who like this movie. To tell the truth, I found this to be am absolute torture to finish. The humor, such as it is, is too obviously constructed. It doesn't come naturally from the characters interacting but from deliberate insertion from the writer. Too bad she couldn't delibertly insert something interesting while she was at it.


Related Reviews:
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Finding Red Cloud (2008)
Mondo Collecto (2006)


Other Critic's Reviews:
The Bitter Critic
Public Arts

Labels: film, Jemaine Clement, Joel Tobeck, Loren Horsley, movie review