Movie review Nim
April 7th, 2008, 4:43 am Hobbies And Interests
Nim (Abigail Breslin) lives a regular Nim’s Family Robinson life on her own deserted isle in “Nim’s Island,” the reasonably delightful new kids’ fantasy film based on Wendy Orr’s novel. She swings among the trees, spends her days with her pals - a sea lion, a pelican and a lizard - and her nights with her books and her dad, the marine biologist (Gerard Butler).But when dad goes missing, Nim has to reach out by e-mail to the one “hero” she knows - Alex Rover, the title character in a series of adventure novels written by Alex Rover.Ah, but “Alex Rover” isn’t who he seems to be - who she seems to be. “Alex” is “Alexandra.” And she (Jodie Foster) is not exactly an adventurer. Alex is a “borderline agoraphobic,” an obsessive-compulsive shut-in lashed to her computer, researching and writing her novels. She’ll make a great rescuer, won’t she?This colorful, winning comedy allows the plucky little girl to fend off rapacious tourists who invade her island as she waits for her shipwrecked dad to return, or her literary hero to come to her rescue. And it gives Foster the chance to act the heck out of a fearful woman who faces those fears to answer a child’s cry for help.All those yummy ingredients come pretty close to a boil in “Nim’s Island.” But the Oscar-winning Foster’s visible struggles with the material vividly illustrate the truth in what the old actor said, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” The engaging Butler reminds us that, as yet, he can’t be both larger than life and funny (Kurt Russell would have killed in this part). At least the kid-and-critters bit lives up to its billing. Your 10-and-unders will be tickled at this.Walden Media, which produced this, is still more a great idea, full of potential, than it is the Tiffany’s of children’s filmmaking. The production values are Walden’s best yet. But the adventure is a little shy of magical, the comedy just short of hilarious, the whimsy forced. Working with children’s material, they aren’t able to attract the best writers.However, the once-and-future “Miss Sunshine,” Breslin, is just terrific playing this positive role model.All things considered, it’s worth spending 90 minutes on “Nim’s Island.” You just wouldn’t want to get stranded there.
Tags: dad, fear, whim, wingsRelated posts
