Techtite's DVD Reviews!

"A cute family movie whose only major flaw is its poorly chosen title, and an equally poor publicity campaign."

--from the review

-------------

Sidebar ::

-------------

No sidebar comments for this review. Yet...

...

-----------------

Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

------------------

The Last Mimzy

A Review by Techtite

Let me ask one question, straight up: Who is responsible for such a sweet film getting such a bad marketing campaign? To look at the commercials, you'd think The Last Mimzy was a child-aged A Beautiful Mind, and yet…let’s put it this way: Mimzy is a stuffed bunny. This may be the most mistakenly promoted film in all of 2007…which is a shame really, because at its core, it is a very sweet and fanciful family film.

Ask not if the following is a spoiler; it’s shown in the prologue of the whole movie, so spoiler police: cool it. In the very distant future, Earth is dying. An old eccentric scientist has been making cubes filled with what he calls “Mimzy” and sending them into the past. In truth, this cube filled with “Mimzy” is actually a cube filled with whimsy; magical devices that appear as simple rocks and toys to adults, yet to children can be used for great things, so these children can better help the future...somehow. Noah Wilder (Chris O’Neil) and his sister Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) find the last “Mimzy” cube, while vacationing at a beachside cottage. Things pick up from there.

You might ask what's up with the bunny. Well, “Mimzy” is more or less adopted by Emma, who carries him wherever she goes, as the bunny speaks in a language only she can hear. Apparently Mimzy knows what must be done to save the future, which is something only the innocent mind of a child can understand. That's what I got out of it, anyway. Meanwhile, big brother Noah tinkers with the seemingly nondescript rocks and seashells from the Mimzy cube, and he suddenly adapts superior hearing, among other skills.

By now you might wonder what the adults in this picture are doing, when boys start floating rocks in mid air, and little girls know the future. Well, Emma’s babysitter, for one, runs from the house screaming, while the kids' school science teacher (Rainn Wilson) is totally fascinated. Parents David (Timothy Hutton) and Jo (Joely Richardson) seem either totally apathetic, or totally oblivious to their children’s sudden powers; one of the few little mistakes that drag this otherwise sweet children’s movie down. Their children are suddenly geniuses, and they barely react to it?

Mind you; I really loved Mimzy. In a day and age where it seems so hard for Hollywood to make children’s entertainment that doesn’t either 1) talk down to kids or 2) offer potty humor ad nauseum, here’s a film that is quite literally fun for the whole family. The underhanded message here ---that children should have the courage to do the right thing, even against seemingly impossible odds--- is done subtly enough to not make the movie seem like one big Afterschool Children’s Special from the 1970’s. This was no easy feat, when this story was adapted from a short story written sometime in 1943. I can only guess the Homeland Security story arc of the film was adapted from an original story that, during WW2, probably had the government fearful of Nazi attack. It makes sense that a war-torn nation would wonder what the heck is going on when rocks start floating around. In this case; the kids’ experiments are seen as a "security risk." That makes little or no sense, though maybe the screenwriters found no other suitable adaptations to the story in 2007.

Sure, it's a whimsical story. Is that a bad thing? On the one hand, no, and on the other hand...sort of. You know that scene in Speed when the bus seemingly “jumps” over an unfinished bridge on the highway? It was silly, yet the film was harmless fun, so...forget about it. The same thing can be said for this film’s many story holes. For one thing: the story arc about Noah’s school science project makes little sense. Why give him this power, if he’s never going to use it for anything? Then there’s the moment Noah can drive a truck, based only on his experience with his favorite racing car video game. It’s silly, yet the film is whimsical, harmless fun, so…forget about it.

In the end: with such a poor publicity campaign, don’t expect this film to do well in theaters. It won’t. Yet when it comes out on DVD, this is just the sort of film families should rent in a heartbeat. After seeing it, you might even be moved enough to buy it. I know I will. If the film’s biggest problem is a bad publicity campaign; that’s the film studio’s problem.

---Techtite

Got a review you'd like to share? Techtite will post 2 of the best "guest" reviews received for any product, online, for all the world to see!