Quick review: UP
06/10/09 16:31
We
celebrated my son’s last day of 5th grade with a
movie: UP. And it was wonderful.
Once again, Pixar does its job well. The film is visually appealing, it tells a great story, and it’s family-friendly (duh). It also does America a great service by casting an older person in the hero’s role. I will expose my nerd self once again and tell you I liked the TV show LOU GRANT--I was way too young to really get it, but I thought Ed Asner was great. I still think he’s great, and this film gives him a way to show off his dry humor. The film also does America a great service in the way it explores how it’s possible to love someone for a loooooooooooooong time, through lots of changes--Carl and Ellie’s relationship is lovely and warm, even in the face of sadness and loss (Carl and Ellie are even opposites, just like the rest of us married people who think we’ve found someone like us, and then that person turns out to be from another planet, a nice planet to be sure, but another planet, and what the hell were we thinking?). Not to risk sounding like a conservative, but America could do with some more examples of couples who stick it out through the craziness (straight AND every other kind of couple, mind you). Between that and showing us an older person who is worth every single ounce of his salt, I am all for this film.
I am terrible in the fact that I pick apart storylines now (“ooh, you need more exposition there,” and “well, that’s a giant hole”), but this film has little to pick apart. I did, however, notice that I wasn’t suspending my belief quite in the way the Pixar folks wanted me to. I TOTALLY bought into the fact that a guy could fly his house to South America using balloons from the zoo--like nine zillion of them. I did NOT, however, buy into the fact that said guy and captive Boy Scout-ish friend (who the dogs of the film call “the little mailman”) could then tow said house around like a parade balloon. Too heavy!
Um . . . well, Kirstin . . . traditionally, houses can’t fly. At all, let alone with the help of balloons. So if you’re gonna believe a house can fly, believe it can be towed. Don’t wreck it for yourself.
Once again, Pixar does its job well. The film is visually appealing, it tells a great story, and it’s family-friendly (duh). It also does America a great service by casting an older person in the hero’s role. I will expose my nerd self once again and tell you I liked the TV show LOU GRANT--I was way too young to really get it, but I thought Ed Asner was great. I still think he’s great, and this film gives him a way to show off his dry humor. The film also does America a great service in the way it explores how it’s possible to love someone for a loooooooooooooong time, through lots of changes--Carl and Ellie’s relationship is lovely and warm, even in the face of sadness and loss (Carl and Ellie are even opposites, just like the rest of us married people who think we’ve found someone like us, and then that person turns out to be from another planet, a nice planet to be sure, but another planet, and what the hell were we thinking?). Not to risk sounding like a conservative, but America could do with some more examples of couples who stick it out through the craziness (straight AND every other kind of couple, mind you). Between that and showing us an older person who is worth every single ounce of his salt, I am all for this film.
I am terrible in the fact that I pick apart storylines now (“ooh, you need more exposition there,” and “well, that’s a giant hole”), but this film has little to pick apart. I did, however, notice that I wasn’t suspending my belief quite in the way the Pixar folks wanted me to. I TOTALLY bought into the fact that a guy could fly his house to South America using balloons from the zoo--like nine zillion of them. I did NOT, however, buy into the fact that said guy and captive Boy Scout-ish friend (who the dogs of the film call “the little mailman”) could then tow said house around like a parade balloon. Too heavy!
Um . . . well, Kirstin . . . traditionally, houses can’t fly. At all, let alone with the help of balloons. So if you’re gonna believe a house can fly, believe it can be towed. Don’t wreck it for yourself.