UNINTENTIONAL DOUBLE FEATURE: Our Idiot Brother / Spy Kids: All The Time In The World (4D)

I ended up seeing both Our Idiot Brother and Spy Kids: All The Time In The World back to back yesterday. It was an odd experience all around from being stuck behind a funeral procession to losing power in a theater... but I'm sure your more interested in the conflict of the characters than my weird day spent almost entirely in a movie theater. So here we go!

(LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD)


Our Idiot Brother  

I didn't know what to expect going into this film. The trailer looked pretty good and I've heard a lot of buzz about it, mostly regarding the cast. It's an ensemble of up and comings, recent comedy mainstays, and Steve Coogan(!).

Paul Rudd plays Ned, a happy-go-unlucky drug dealer, who ends up in jail after selling marijuana to a police officer. He eventually gets out and ends up staying with his sisters, which starts a downward spiral of disfunction.

Paul Rudd is very tame (but still very funny) in this role, and Ned is very likable even though he is at the epicenter of the destruction of sisters lives.  The sisters are wonderful. Played by Emily Mortimer (Liz), Zooey Deschanel (Natalie), and Elizabeth Banks (Miranda).  The rest of the cast is made up of Steve Coogan (Liz's stiff filmmaker husband), Rashida Jones (Natalie's innocent white collar girlfriend), and a golden retriever (Ned's faithful best friend, named "Willie Nelson")

The story is simple and sweet, and it's very indie. The characters are quirky and as real as you and I. The story was low key and almost secondary to the characters, but I'm not sure if that's a terrible thing. It's like watching a small glimpse into the life of this family. Even if this took place at a different time in their lives, it would be just as interesting of a film.

If you want to see a solid film that's charming and quirky… or if you want to see Elizabeth Banks play her best Parker Posey (which is AWESOME)… or (I'm pulling out all of the stops now) if you just want to see Zooey Deschanel and Rashida Jones make out, go see Our Idiot Brother. Thankfully, it's a much smarter film than it's title implies.

Spy Kids: All The Time In The World (4D)  

I've never seen a Spy Kids movie. My 3 year old daughter, Elle became obsessed with them sometime within the past week and now she's an expert. So after the power went out during Our Idiot Brother and we ended up with free movie passes, I decided to take Elle to her very first movie. (Although she claims I took her to see a movie called "One Bear" when she was two. I told her that she's making it up, and her response was "That's okay, you just don't remember it".)

Spy Kids: All The Time In The World is the 4th installment of the Spy Kids series. There hasn't been a new film since 2003, which is a lot earlier than I remember. The plot is simple. Jessica Alba plays a retired spy, who is now a mother. Her husband plays a spy hunter on TV and has no clue that his wife was a spy (his two kids don't know this either). Ricky Gervais is the voice of the dog. The shit hits the fan and the whole family gets involved.

To explain the shit hitting the fan a little better… villains named Tick Tock and the Timekeeper have a device that can speed up time and eventually end the world. It's like something out of a comic book, and a fun premise. But the time/clock wordplay gets out of hand really quickly, and the Timekeeper is wearing the worst villain costume OF ALL TIME. I've searched for a picture, but it's so bad that I think they're trying really hard to keep it off of the internet.

Assuming this is very similar in style to the other films, I must say… the style is odd. It feels more like a long episode of Power Rangers than a feature film. Everything from the lighting to the camera angles to the editing and costumes all seemed TV quality. And 1990's TV quality.   The only thing that assured me that someone didn't go BACK IN TIME and steal this movie from the mid 90's was the special effects. I'm guessing all of the budget was spent on the effects leaving no room for anything else.

I hate to use this word when describing a film, but it was enjoyable. I feel like that's the word used when you don't want to admit that you liked a popular film. But to explain my use… my daughter smiled the whole time, and I had fun. I didn't really drift (though I may have dozed for a few seconds towards the end) and I'd take her to see the next one. It's a silly story with silly villains that looks like a power rangers episode, but I think it works. ONLY TIME WILL TELL. (Sorry.)