REVIEW: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009).
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Rated: PG
Runtime: 90 minutes
Starring: Bill Hader, Ana Faris
My rating: 4 stars
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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a good movie, with a good script, great animation and in stunning 3-D – for the first time in Watertown.
Yes, it is a kids movie, and yes, there is plenty for kids to enjoy that adults will scoff at, but on the whole, this movie is very funny and enjoyable for all.
Flint (voiced by Bill Hader) has had a lifelong dream to save the word with science. He lives on a fishing island that's sole export is sardines. When the world discovers sardines are “super gross” the little island's only income vanishes and food becomes scarce. Flint builds a machine that converts water into food.
The first time he tries it, it blasts into the sky and it rains hamburgers. The world is save, right? Wrong. The food eventually gets bigger and bigger until things like pancakes the size of an elementary school come down. The weather phenomena brings Sam (Anna Faris) to town. She's a closeted nerd who can match wits with Flint. They have to save the world together.
This story is not unfamiliar, although the film slightly different than the book on which it is based. In the book, an old man tells the story of a fantasy place. There isn't much of a moral or anything anyone is supposed to learn. It's just fun.
And that was preserved in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It's hilarious, thrilling, and the 3-D effects superb.
Remember the dogs in Up!, and how they had collars that translated their thoughts? Flint has a monkey with a thought-translator attached. He is much funnier than those stupid dogs.
There are elements of heart here, too, as Flint is simultaneously trying to save the world and impress his father, who has given up on Flint's science dream since his mother died 10 years prior.
There's Flint gaining confidence talking to girls, especially in a wonderful scene with Sam that takes place inside a giant hunk of Jell-O.
The slew of characters rivals that of the greats in the genre. There's the mayor who is money hungry and loves how he can spin the food-rain to draw tourism.
There's Sam's cameraman, who comes from Guatemala and was a doctor and pilot. There's Baby Brent, who was the town's celebrity since birth because the picture of him tipping a wagon filled with sardines was placed on every outgoing package. The celebrity went to his head.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has so much to like, I don't see how anyone will walk out of the theater disappointed. The story is solid and the pacing perfect.
The only downfall is that there wasn't enough development with certain story lines, most notably the father-son relationship. The audience gets glimpses of problems, but never really understands or knows why. Even after the film, you're not really sure what the deal was there the whole time. The Dad is the only character that doesn't work. He was necessary, but wasn't given enough time.
Bring your kids. Heck, bring a date. Everyone will find something to love. Four stars.
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Where it's playing:
Canton/PotsdamSHOWTIMES
Watertown SHOWTIMES
