>>REVIEW
THE LAST MIMZY
STARRING Timothy Hutton and Rainn Wilson
DIRECTED BY Robert Shaye
Opens Friday, March 23
Check listings
The strangest short stories make for the very best family movies. The great thing about a children’s story is that reality can be left at the door, disbelief can be suspended and imagination can run wild. This is why those familiar with the short story Mimsy Were the Borogoves were excited to see the classic tale woven on the big screen. This is also why the film’s poor execution is so disappointing.
The film tells the story of a young brother and sister who find a box filled with amazing toys that have been sent through time by citizens of a dystopian future to hopefully change the dark path of history. It is a classic tale of children trying to change the world despite the efforts of the no-longer imaginative adults around them.
Updated from the original 1940s version, the story remains original and engaging, but like any children’s story the magic is all in the telling.
With The Last Mimzy, director Robert Shaye reminds us why he hasn’t been behind a camera since 1990’s forgettable teen romp The Book of Love. With enormous plot holes and aimless one-dimensional characters, Shaye turns the wonderful into the mundane, wasting the sizable talents of former Oscar-winner Timothy Hutton and Rainn Wilson of The Office.
Not all of the blame for the film’s poor execution can be placed on Shaye, however. Equally inept are screenwriters Toby Emmerich and Bruce Joel Rubin. Each line of dialogue is as groan inducing as the last, making good actors sound wooden and bad actors sound ridiculous.
Most victimized by the horrendous script is Randy Lynne, who’s short but memorable turn as Julie the babysitter would get her laughed off even the lowest-budget B-movie set.
Perhaps the film’s lone bright spot is newcomer Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, who uses every adorable trick in her arsenal to make us believe in Emma’s mission. Unfortunately Chris O’Neil isn’t nearly as successful as Emma’s brother Noah, displaying a screen presence reminiscent of Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace.
As any child will tell you, if you don’t make the right voices and emphasize the right parts, the story, no matter how fantastic, is just not worth telling. |
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.