Skip the Nut Job

Movie Title:  The Nut Job

Grade: C-

   

In a Nutshell:  Skip it.  When stunning animation movies like Frozen are out in the theaters, why would you waste your time or money on this one?  It’s a meager attempt at following the recipe for a successful kids’ movie.  Young kids may be entertained, but parents will either fall asleep or want to stab a fork in their eyes.

Filled with an unlikeable main character, endless capers, dumb gangster goons, an obligatory dance scene and electrocution moment, and lame lines such as “Let’s not get nutty around here”, this Saturday morning cartoon falls way short of being memorable or magical.

Uplifting theme: It’s important to work together.  Teamwork doesn’t have “I” in it.

Things I liked:        Great voice actors include Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph, and even ventriloquist Jeff Dunham.  Unfortunately, none of them had good material to work with, so their talents were underutilized. I thought the red cardinal that Racoon carries around was pretty cute and I liked the 3D popcorn popping effect.

Things I didn’t like:  When the writers couldn’t think of clever jokes they just resorted to lots of farting and burping. The animation itself was simply inferior.  The supporting characters lacked visual distinction or interest.  The scary rat gang looked like ugly stuffed animals.

Funny lines:

• “Is that Bubonic Plague you’re wearing?”  - Surly
• “That’s my cologne, made of tree sap and falcon tears.” - Surly

Inspiring lines:

• Hmmmm….can’t think of any.  Pretty sad, right?

Things to look for:

• Baby squirrel sucking its thumb
• Little bird’s trembling lips when the tree burns

Tips for parents:  See something else. 

Grown Ups 2 is a waste of your money and time

Well, I hate to disappoint you, but Grown Ups 2 isn’t going to win any Oscar’s.  Big surprise, right?  While the first installment of Adam Sandler and his buddies pretending to be responsible parents was a fun, goofy flick, this return will bore and disgust you.  The script appears to have been written on a cocktail napkin while Sandler and his actor pals were all drunk out of their minds.

The all-star comedy cast shows that Saturday Night Live bonds last for many years.  I’m glad they’re all having fun and making millions together, but their humor really should be a little bit more grown up by now, don’t you think?  The film is full of crude jokes about barfs, farts, and every body part imaginable.  Fake boobs and coarse, exaggerated antics fill the screen, along with inane dialogue and gags that dwell too long.

Adam Sandler’s character, Lenny Feder, moves back to where he grew up with all of his buddies played by Chris Rock, Kevin James, and David Spade.  Other favorites in the cast include Salma Hayek Pinault, Maya Rudolph, Steve Buscemi, Colin Quinn, Jon Lovitz, Shaquille O’Neal and, of course, Rob Schneider.  Twilight lovers will cringe when they see Taylor Lautner playing a dumb, mean frat boy with lines that include such gems as “farthead.”

 

Adam Sandler attempts to recapture his youth by spewing out the most juvenile plot while insulting his audience.  It’s vulgar and definitely NOT funny.  Are all of the stars in the movie afraid to tell Sandler how bad this movie really is or do they simply not care?

PG-13 for being stupid and offensive, in addition to all of the other reasons.

Grade = F