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Directed By
Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Written By:
Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett
Cast:
Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, James Caan, Tracy Morgan, Mr. T
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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
September 21st, 2009
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'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' is based on an acclaimed children's book by Judi and Ron Barrett, an admittedly loose and embellished adaptation by novice writer-directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord, making the transition from television to cinema, and producing one of the most consistently joyful and charming animated films of the year.
It is not as good overall as Pixar's Up, but it ranks as terrific entertainment for both kids and adults. In the town of Swallow Falls, ambitious inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) has created a device that can turn water vapor into food. So, as the title might imply, meatballs, cheeseburgers, cookies, jelly beans, and other such items fall from the sky at regular intervals, and the town changes its name and prepares to accommodate all of the new tourists arriving to witness this bizarre meteorological phenomenon for themselves. A problem arises, however, when Flint's machine begins to malfunction, and he has to find some way to destroy it and avert calamity, with the help of his new friend Sam Sparks (Anna Faris), a weather correspondent.
I would also imagine that the daily deluge of junk food would prove increasingly unhealthy for the town's residents, from a nutritional perspective (you have candy and ice cream, but no green vegetables or fruit). Also, the size of the food drastically increases and becomes large enough to crush buildings. Flint has worked hard to impress his father, Tim (James Caan), who wants him to inherit the family bait shop business. Swallow Falls' previous claim to fame was its thriving sardine industry, but production has slowed down at the local cannery, and Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell) is not content to let his town fade into obscurity. The movie has a very simple and straightforward sense of humor, and favors comedy over the more dramatic, or serious, elements of the story, such as Flint's relationship with Tim, and the bond between Flint and Sam.
The flick displays ample doses of imagination and sweetness, and is refreshingly devoid of excessive pop culture references and potty gags. The visuals are vibrant and colorful, and the characters are nicely animated, with exaggeratedly cartoonish features, large eyes, thin bodies, and faces and mouths that have an alarming degree of elasticity. The environments are constructed using both realistic and totally fantastical scenery. Hader and Faris are superb; Hader's portrayal of Flint is earnest and sympathetic, and he avoids becoming too theatrical, or resorting to SNL antics to earn a few cheap laughs.
Faris is tremendously funny and poignant, radiating warmth and authenticity as Sam; Flint encourages her to be true to herself, after she has grown accustomed to disguising her intellect and superficially enhancing her physical beauty, for the purposes of career advancement, while likely never being taken seriously by her male colleagues. This is a commendable message to all female viewers, irrespective of age. The frantic, action-heavy climax seems unnecessarily long, but is still fun to watch.
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