Movie review: “Imagine That”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. A pleasantly surprising 2 1/2 of 4 stars.
‘Imagine That’ is unexpectedly engaging
A little bit of restraint goes a long way toward building welcome mystery and surprising goodwill for Eddie Murphy in “Imagine That.”
Murphy has specialized lately in slightly amusing to downright obnoxious PG-rated fare like “Meet Dave” and “Daddy Day Camp,” movies aimed squarely at kids who still giggle at poop jokes and food fights. With his past as a groundbreaking no-holds-barred comedian looming large, it’s easy to generalize: old Eddie, hilarious; new Eddie, insipid.
But a clever, well-played storyline, talented co-stars and Murphy’s self-discipline make “Imagine That” unexpectedly engaging.
Murphy plays Evan Danielson, a workaholic financial adviser who already is estranged from his wife (Nicole Ari Parker) and can’t (or won’t) connect with his 7-year-old daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi). He just doesn’t get his little girl, who still clings to her security blanket (AKA “The Goo-Gaa”) and communes with imaginary friends. So, he ignores her.
When Olivia comes to stay for a week, Evan starts out neglecting her, until she spouts some spot-on stock tips. She claims the pretend princesses of her fantasy world passed on the uncanny business insights.
With his boss (Ronny Cox) retiring, Evan is vying for the top job, and his main competition is Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church), an allegedly American Indian hotshot whose phony-baloney fake mysticism doesn’t quite cover his ruthless streak. In the hopes of getting ahead, Evan talks Olivia into letting him enter her secret world.
Gaining access to Olivia’s fiscally savvy imaginary pals involves dashing through caves, singing for a cranky dragon and dancing (right out in public no less) to entertain the queen. Soon, father and child are cooking pancakes together and he’s helping her rehearse for the school musical.
But Olivia can’t help wondering if her father really wants to spend time with her or whether he’s merely using her in his endless quest for career advancement.
Director Karey Kirkpatrick (“Over the Hedge”) and writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”) smartly choose not to use CGI or other high-tech gambits to show us Olivia’s fantasy land. Instead, we see as Evan does – through the girl’s eyes only – and any parent can relate to his effort to navigate his child’s imagination. It also is refreshing to see a film that doesn’t have to describe or articulate every detail.
Disappointingly, the film eventually veers into predictable territory, as Evan faces the clichéd choice of attending Olivia’s play or a big business meeting with financial guru Dante D’Enzo (Martin Sheen).
But along the way, Murphy and the sparkling Shahidi develop wonderful chemistry, Church gamely steals the show and the film’s star sings, dances and even freaks out without getting too insufferably over-the-top.
Imagine that.
- BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment