I can’t forecast it for sure, but if there’s justice, the much beloved book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is about become a hit movie as well. It’s a comedy that will make everyone in the family laugh out loud. And that’s not because adults watching will get in touch with their inner child or because the humor is lowest common denominator jokes about bodily functions. It’s because some things are just plain funny and very clever.
Cloudy is based on the simple picture book by Judi and Ron Barrett, about a town where food rains down from the sky. The movie – if it’s to survive as a 3-D animated feature – had to be a lot more elaborate and create some characters, a plot and a reason for it to rain food. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and the animators with Sony Animation get them all right.
Young inventor Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) wants to be the next Thomas Edison. He’s spent his life trying to create the next big thing – from spray-on shoes to flying ratbirds. Nothing takes. In fact, every thing he comes up with ends up wreaking havoc in this little community, which is already suffering because its booming sardine industry has gone bust. But when he invents a machine that makes food out of water –and it ends up stuck in the atmosphere – he’s created something that will fatten up the townspeople and the town’s economy.
Flint is a lot of fun in his wackiness. He is a mad scientist for sure, but in an awkward nerd way, not a diabolical one. Bill Hader, whose characters on Saturday Night Live are funny because of their distinctive voices, makes Flint the kind of naïve dreamer you root for even if no one else does. Flint during most of the movie is a young adult, but even schoolboy Flint at the beginning of the film is a lot of fun (and honestly, worthy of his own prequel).
Just as entertaining as young Flint is some of the well-crafted supporting cast. Anna Faris voices Flint’s love interest, a TV weather department intern looking for her big break. Audiences should also get a kick out of the ambitious and corrupt mayor (Bruce Campbell), Flint’s gruff dad (James Caan), the past-his-prime former town hero (Andy Samberg) and the mean cop with a big heart (Mr. T). Yes, Mr. T. – whose character is especially funny. Adults who recognize the voice will get a kick out of it, but won’t be too distracted because while he’s a tough guy, he’s not “Mr. T”. And kids won’t feel like they’re watching a dated reference only their parents will get. Lending his voice to a cartoon is a great way for Mr. T. to get new work without self-parody.
If you’re a real-life Flint who’s into technology, you should know the 3-D is very good. It hit me during a scene with a giant fishbowl, a super sardine and the entire town. Things inevitably go wrong for Flint there, but the techs that put together the 3-D put together a great scene. They had a lot on their plate, but they served up an overall great movie.
