Sundance Film #2: Eagle vs. Shark

Eagle vs. Shark
Which is the more dangerous predator: an eagle or a shark? That's a trick question. Don't try to answer it. You'll have your own opinion by the end of Taika Waititi's deliciously tangy, deadpan feature debut about two colorful misfits thrown into each other's orbit.

Lily is one of those weird, sweet-natured girls with stringy hair who is quite lovely and charismatic under a surface of shy awkwardness. But most people don't have enough vision to notice, and the truth is that Lily isn't looking to change. She cashiers at a fast-food joint and pines for Jarrod, the self-aggrandizing, clueless geek from the computer store across the way. Fiercely optimistic, Lily crashes Jarrod's animal/video-game extravaganza, impressing him enough with her shark suit and gaming prowess to score a hookup with Eagle Lord (Jarrod) himself. Soon Lily and her brother are driving Jarrod back to his hometown to confront his childhood nemesis. but here Jarrod's self absorption blossoms so mightily that it may drive even the most adoring of girlfriends away. As Jarrod prepares to exact his revenge on the past, Lily's quiet power gathers force as well.

With so much subltety and precision in Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clement's straight-faced, oddball performances, Lily and Jarrod's attempts to reach each other are hilarious and excruciatingly real. Meanwhile, Phoenix Foundation's charming, moody score perfectly reflects lopsided hearts as they stumble through the uncomfortably transformative terrain.
(Caroline Libresco, 2007 Sundance Film Festival catalog)
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If you liked Napolean Dynamite and Love Actually, Eagle vs. Shark is your film! Unfortunately for me, I was one of the two people in the theater who hated both Napolean Dynamite AND Love Actually.

I've talked before about The Castle, a sweet little movie that's so loving and kind about its quirks that it's a joy to watch. The characters are quirky, but they love each other, so we are encouraged to feel the same. In Eagle vs. Shark, the characters are just as quirky, but rather than loving each other, they bite and snipe and pick, encouraging the viewer to laugh at them the way all the kids on the playground laughed as the bully beat up the dweeb that nobody liked.

The same awkwardness in Eagle vs. Shark characters was there in Napolean Dynamite, but in N.D., the camera is neutral. If Napolean wants to dance and his brother wants to train to be a cage fighter, the viewer is left to decide how s/he feels about it - their clumsiness isn't held up and ridiculed by anyone onscreen.

The main character, Lily, redeemed the movie from utter meanness. She was dorky, but she held her dignity the entire time she watched with improbably huge eyes as Jarrod makes a fool of himself, and she not only refuses to mock him, she refuses to stop liking him. Not entirely logical, but beautifully admirable nonetheless. Maybe it's telling of my own life that my mind filled in the "what happened next" with "Jarrod is never going to stop acting like a dick and when she sees that, she'll get a real boyfriend." I just hate to see nice people hooked up with anyone who doesn't treat them well.

I think that most people who watch this movie will think it's hilarious. They'll see it and think about some kid they knew in high school and laugh at the both simultaneously, or they'll remember their own loserhood and laugh on the outside, flinching on the inside (I went right ahead and just flinched on the outside). The audience in our auditorium certainly thought it was a giant larf-fest. But there will be a few people who will watch it and think to themselves, "I want to be like Lily."

Okay, maybe it'll just be me thinking that.

The Pirate says: Bah.

My score: 3
The Pirate's score: 2