Ani-MAY-tion Month: Meet The Robinsons (2007)

Based on the book "A Day With Wilbur Robinson", Meet The Robinsons is a film full of fun moments and some time-travel shenanigans, but it never feels like a completely satisfying movie. Seven people worked on the screenplay, including director Stephen J. Anderson, and it's a shame that not one of them could do enough to lift the thing from good to great.

Wilbur is a young orphan, seemingly destined to remain at the orphanage forever. None of the prospective parents who come to see him end up taking him home. He doesn't always help himself in that regard, thanks to a penchant for creating inventions that don't always work as they should, but he's a sweet kid desperate to feel wanted. Which is why he puts all of his energies into inventing a machine that will show any memories hidden away deep inside the human mind. He wants to see the face of his mother, who dropped him off at the orphanage years ago. Unfortunately, his invention gets the attention of the evil Bowler Hat Guy, which leads to a young lad named Lewis trying to help Wilbur out by taking him away for a while in his time machine. But time travel is only a good thing when people stick to the rules. It also helps if people don't crash the time machine. While Wilbur and Lewis try to put things right, the Bowler Hat Guy senses victory coming his way.

Mixing kid-friendly science fiction with some quirky humour and a nice retro style, there are lots of elements here to enjoy. The third act, that brings about a few revelations and ties everything together nicely, it very good. The sweeter moments of the opening scenes are also very good. But this is a film that spends its middle section just wandering aimlessly around between pointless scenes and too many redundant characters. Okay, they're not redundant in the grand scheme of things, but the Robinsons are a large family with only one or two individuals who really stand out.

The vocal cast isn't a big help. Although everyone does a good enough job, it's a shame to have Angela Bassett, Laurie Metcalf and Harland Williams wasted in supporting roles. The latter has the most fun, and there are also small roles for Adam West and Tom Selleck, but there's never enough good voice work to shake the feeling that the whole enterprise is quite bland and anonymous.

Danny Elfman provides a decent score, which is as Elfman-esque as his usual work, and there's one great gag spoken by a dinosaur (well, he makes noises and it's translated - but you have to turn on the DVD subtitle option to read it), but that's about all I have left to say. I've run out of praise to sprinkle throughout this review.

Ultimately a bit of a disappointment, Meet The Robinsons is still passable entertainment. But it should have been much better.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Meet-Robinsons-Blu-ray-Angela-Bassett/dp/B0049GYXGS/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1400367439&sr=1-3&keywords=meet+the+robinsons

Sorority Boys (2002)

A lowbrow teen comedy that focuses on some clumsy cross-dressing for the majority of it’s comedy may not sound like something very appealing but I happily recommend Sorority Boys as a great laugh and a perfect distant relative along the branches of the fraternity comedy family tree that grew from the seed planted by Animal House (a movie given many nods throughout) many years ago.

Three young men are very popular members of the KOK fraternity, where the parties are always lively and the women are always attractive. In fact, if any women from the much-derided DOG fraternity try to get in then it’s not long until the cry of “dogcatcher” is heard and a net is thrown over the unfortunate individual, who is then ejected from the party. It’s a great life. Women are treated with a complete lack of respect, beer is drunk in large amounts and the guys don’t have a care in the world. Until the money that they’re safeguarding, to be used in the funding of the all-important “cocktail cruise” where futures are often decided, goes missing. Or is stolen. Proving their innocence will be difficult, due to the fact that they are run out of the fraternity. In an effort to buy some time the guys don some womenswear and end up spending more time than they ever thought they would in DOG house. You can probably guess what kind of antics ensue and what lessons could be learned.

While there’s no denying that Sorority Boys is fairly formulaic and predictable stuff, there’s also no denying that it aims to provide simple, unpretentious, laughs. The first 10-20 minutes are downright offensive for any female viewers but it’s all necessary stuff so we can watch the guys go along a very steep learning curve and be dealt some humility.

The men in drag are all good sports and look comical as women. Barry Watson is the one who comes close to almost looking ladylike for all of two minutes as Dave/Daisy. Harland Williams is almost scary in a dress but also constantly hilarious as Doofer/Roberta. And Michael Rosenbaum, as Adam/Adina, sits uncomfortably in the middle while receiving the roughest treatment at the hands of men he used to consider friends. Melissa Sagemiller is the pretty head of the DOG house while Heather Matarazzo, Kathryn Stockwood and Yvonne Scio also join in the miserable company.

The script by Joe Jarvis and Greg Coolidge is very mean throughout but also very funny. When the guys are mean it’s all a set-up for the comedy derived later in the movie as the tables are turned. When people are mean to the guys (dressed as women) it’s both hilarious and deserved. The fact that the guys quickly seem to get in touch with their feminine side is another well-mined rich vein of humour (Rosenbaum obsessing over the size of his backside may be playing up to a stereotype but is also very funny while Barry Watson gets so comfortable so quickly that it’s no wonder he gets one or two funny looks from the others).

Wallace Wolodarsky directs things with great energy to compensate for the inherent implausibility of the material. Cross-cutting between characters for extra comic effect, exaggerating some ridiculous situations and topping off any semi-serious moments with a rude punchline – these are just some of the ways in which Wolodarsky makes the best of the enjoyable, lightweight material.

It’s quite possibly the best cross-dressing comedy since Mrs. Doubtfire. Without the schmaltz. 

7/10. 

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