THE WAR WITH GRANDPA

Robert De Niro     Uma Thurman     Rob Riggle     Oakes Fegley     Christopher Walken     Cheech Marin

 

     More than being funny, the movie’s to be admired more for the “arms” grandpa and grandson use to wage their war.  Peter (Fegley) is incensed when his mother (Thurman) decides that it’s too risky for her father to remain in his own home, and forces him to move in with her family.  For this to happen, Grandpa (De Niro) is going into Peter’s room, and he will be put up in the attic. After the boy pulls a few tricks on his grandfather to protest, Grandpa agrees they are at war, so based on his own experience in military service, he draws up rules of engagement that he and Peter agree to abide by.

     That’s when the “fun” begins as each side pulls in buddies who egg each of them on. Part of the pact is that it stays secret; no one in the family is to know about it—war secrets in other words. Grandpa has in mind that this will be an educational lesson for Peter, and is unaware of his own competitive streak—even toward a kid.

     Warfare involves what seemed to me to be fairly sophisticated electronics, mechanical knowledge (Grandpa is a former home builder), and, to them, hilarious booby traps involving a drone, manipulation of music LPs, remote control cars, rearranging snacks, spiking coffee, a snake, and on and on.  Sometimes by accident, the antics miss their target and affect other people.  But since Peter and his Grandpa haven’t revealed their war, no one knows they’re behind the tricks missing their mark.  In one satisfying sequence, the school bully who is consistently commandeering Peter’s backpack gets a trick blow-up in his face.

     Tim Hill of SpongeBob SquarePants fame directs this film written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, based on a book of the same title by Robert Kimmel Smith.  It succeeds but, as I say, more for the fascination of the warfare tools than for comedy; unless you’re one of those people who invariably laughs at pratfalls, and if so, you will find comedy here.

     The film is not without some heartfelt scenes of family love, friendship, and honor. These are well done and are not too treacly, and often show the character learning something from experience.  

     Oakes Fegley (Wonderland, Pete’s Dragon) again proves his acting skills such that he was able to hold his own with the proven versatile skills of Robert De Niro.  The two together have a wonderful dynamic reflecting an emotional bond.  Uma Thurman chews up a role like this as easily as a practiced tennis shot.  She is convincing as a daughter, wife, and mother always steering a family sometimes going awry.  Not her fault but a flaw in the writing was one of the last scenes showing her tackling a teenager.  After her husband’s (Rob Riggle) multiple deferential statements about her, this was overkill.  

     I imagine this film will delight many families who like this kind of set-up and humor. I find it more in the realm of the kind of entertainment that appeals to many Americans more than more substantive fare.  For those liking movies like Meet the Parents, this will be a hit.

 

A war unlike any you’ve seen before.

 

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MIDNIGHT SUN

Bella Thorne     Patrick Schwarzenegger     Rob Riggle     Quinn Shephard

     This is a film that might appeal to pre-teen girls in terms of its subject matter, but I wouldn’t even recommend that because it models feeling shame about a physical illness, hence not telling a significant other person about it until way late in the story.  How much better to have the illness out front right away, and show young people how shame and other feelings about illness can be handled.

     But Midnight Sun is way too precious anyway, with “perfect” boy, girl, father, friend, and doctor.  All have a rosy spin, so there is no conflict.  God Forbid that anyone would express anger, impatience, jealousy, and, above all, grief.

     XP (Xeroderma Pigmentosum) is a disorder in which any sunlight on the body can be life threatening.  That is what Katie (Thorne) and her father (Riggle) are dealing with after her mother died.  She has been home-schooled, and for some reason not explained in the film, has never gone to friends’ houses or to parties at night.  One cheeky little girl named Morgan (Shephard) invited herself to dinner one evening, and the girls became fast friends forever after.  She is a good influence on Katie, and is responsible for Katie meeting Charlie (Schwarzenegger).  The two hit it off, but Katie manages to hide her illness from Charlie.  This only comes out at the end of the story and, well, you can guess from what I’ve said how it goes:  happy ever after.

     The only quality I see in Midnight Sun is the acting.  It’s noteworthy that the star Thorne sang and played her own guitar.  The part as written for her, as well as the one for Schwarzenegger, are both super easy to play, and although both do a good job, it’s not especially remarkable.  The same could be said for Riggle.  But the most impressive is Quinn Shephard as the slightly quirky friend who seems more normal than everyone else with her feistiness and love for life.

     The film is based on a TV miniseries by Kenji Bando, with a screenplay written by Eric Kirsten.  I have no idea why the filmmakers chose to focus on XP, in that with sun exposure it typically leaves the person with skin malignancies, not a pretty sight.  In this picture in which everyone and everything is beautiful, Katie herself is beautiful with not a hint of skin problems.

     Unless you’re willing to go for “pre-teen light”, Midnight Sun is not for you.

Midnight Sun, a contradiction in terms in more ways than one.

Grade:  D                                                By Donna R. Copeland

MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE

Griffin Gluck   Thomas Barbusca   Lauren Graham   Rob Riggle   Andrew Daly   Isabela Moner   Alexa Nisenson   Adam Pally

          Surprise!  This is a clever film making a comedy of intelligent protest against ridiculously stringent rules at a middle school, where the principal is more about power than about education.  Poor Rafe (Gluck) (as in Rules Aren’t for Everyone) has been accepted into the only school left for him after suspensions from other schools.  He seems to get in trouble for his drawings, incredibly creative as they are.  They are so real that they instantly express whatever strong thoughts or feelings he’s having.  This is one of the strongest assets of this film in its cleverness, but more importantly, it reflects an effective way for children to cope with adversities.

           The film pits creativity and imagination against rules, discipline, and adults’ neurotic needs for power.  Guess which side wins.  And even though I cringed at some aspects of it that seem to encourage sociopathy (e.g., admiration of bank robbers), I have to give it thumbs up for showing a way for basically good kids to overcome repressive policies.

Example:  When Rafe becomes instantly popular in class for a drawing of Principal Dwight (Daly), which he had not intended to be passed around, Dwight threatens to destroy his drawing book, despite Rafe’s pleas.  Rafe’s brother recently died of leukemia, and the drawings are his way of coping with the death, and he has worked very hard on them.  Dwight turns a deaf ear and throws the book into a bucket of acid.

          [Spoiler alert!]  Another clever device of the film, which I presume is in the novel by James Patterson and Chris Tebbett on which it is based, is the insertion of what turns out to be an imaginary character, Leo (Barbusca), who is actually Rafe’s dead brother coming back to help him in all his efforts.  The viewer doesn’t find out his identity until toward the end of the film, but once again, this represents a very effective way for children to cope with loss.

          In short, the story in Middle School is about a group of students who use creativity and technology (yea! there is a techie girl, Jeannie, played by Isabela Moner) to overcome a repressive system at school and expose a principal without educational values.  Rafe and his sister Georgia (Nisenson) use similar techniques to deal with their mother’s narcissistic boyfriend. 

          Director Steve Carr and his partners in this film—including the visual effects crew—deserve praise for making a film about/for children that goes beyond plain fancy to show how imagination and creativity can be used in real-life situations to make things better. 

The star Griffen Gluck is a relatively experienced, talented actor who is convincing playing a younger child, showing the naïve, puzzled looks of one trying to figure out the mysteries of adulthood.  The other child actors (Barbusca, Moner, and Nisenson) also pull us in completely.  I loved the performance and role of Rafe’s mother (Graham) who says and does all the things a good-enough mother should do.  Likewise, the teacher (Pally) is well played.

A different protest story far from the norm enhanced by cleverly drawn cartoons.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland