Toothless and Hiccup

How to Train Your Dragon is a family friendly, heartfelt children’s comedy. It’s got a good mixture of laughs for the parents and plenty of laughs for kids. I wasn’t convinced by the trailers I saw. It looked way too stock; too many silly kid jokes and I thought the main kid’s voice was too mature. But it all worked in the end. My niece giggled incessantly throughout at all the jokes that were more kid friendly and I got to chuckle at the sarcasm of the movies’ “unlikely” hero Hiccup (Jay Baruchel).

The story opens with a brief history of his people narrated by Hiccup and we quickly learn that he is and has always been the “blacksheep” of the town. Hiccup works as the apprentice to the blacksmith, Gobber (Craig Ferguson), even though Hiccup can barely hold a sword. Hiccup wants badly to prove to the town and his father that he has what it takes to be a dragon slayer but he‚Äôs always being told that he‚Äôs too much him to be anything else. This gets pointed out a few times in the movie and they really make it work. Yes, this is another story about discovering who you really are by facing terrible odds and winning in the end. But isn‚Äôt that how life really is? There is a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. If you make it all the way through graduate school and have that coveted degree then all the happiness in the world awaits you. I mean, that‚Äôs what would happen in the movie version anyway. I love these kinds of movies because in the end they remind us older people what means to dream. Yes, a story about Vikings and dragons can do that.

More than just that, this is a story about 1) being friends with your enemies (the Pilgrims could have learned this lesson) and 2) finding your destiny. These are lessons that people everywhere need to be reminded of. I do believe that you can find deep meaning in just about anything. Just ask the people I work with. You could call me a “down to earth bringer” because I have a terrible habit of taking other people’s sarcastic and funny stories and find a way to bring them down to earth. I’m like “hey, what you just said is annoying when it happens, but did you know that cultures all over the world do that and isn’t that neat!?” Geez, I’m a nerd. But like I was saying, a story with a simple moral is usually the best and those kinds of stories tend to stay with us throughout life.

Hiccup realizes that he doesn’t want to fight dragons after he meets Toothless and can’t kill him but he allows his dad to talk him into dragon slaying training before he can tell him his true feelings. While training and befriending his “captured” dragon, Hiccup learns all kinds of tricks to taming dragons. Tickle them under the chin and they fall asleep. So of course, he becomes the champion trainee where his final prize is to actually kill a dragon. But alas, Hiccup cannot complete the final task. He instead tries to show the crowd that he can pet the dragon he is supposed to slay. His father becomes so enraged that he disowns Hiccup and goes after the dragons nest. Yes, I’m leaving plot points out but that’s ok because you’re going to dig through your pocketbook and under the couch cushions to find the cash to see this in the theatre right? The 3D is really great and is worth the few extra dollars to see it. My niece couldn’t stop pretending to be the Six Flags guy with those huge 3D glasses on. Normally that fake old man is veritably enraging but when my cute as a button niece does the voice I can’t help but laugh.

There are some really cute moments in this movie. It’s an honest kid’s flick without bawdy humor thrown in for the adults and I like that. Sometimes it’s just best to kick back with an Icee, put on a pair of dorky glasses, and laugh like a kid, pretending to fly a real dragon.

Cyrus tells the story of John (John C. Reilly). ¬†We’re introduced to him in a rather compromised position. ¬†His ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener) goes into his house. ¬†Loud music is blaring from a room. ¬†She walks in on him… shall we say… in a solitary act. ¬†We learn that he’s been divorced for an extended period but has not done much with his life since the failure of his marriage. ¬†John’s maintained a good relationship with Jamie, but time seems to have stopped. ¬†Jamie convinces John to go to a party. ¬†John gets very inebriated and runs into Molly (Marisa Tomei). ¬†In true fashion, they fall head over heels. ¬†John then meets Molly’s rather obsessive son, Cyrus (played pretty damn well by Jonah Hill). ¬†The film then takes on a “don’t fuck my mom” approach but balances humor with some pretty heartfelt drama.

I already mentioned Hill as being rather well in his performance. ¬†All around, the cast is really great. ¬†Every scene with even the hint of a joke is just spot on. ¬†The drama throughout is equally impressive. ¬†Everything is handled in a rather realistic manner. ¬†Please forgive me as this is my first foray into Mumblecore; so if the next statement is rote you’ll understand. ¬†A lot of the movie almost seemed improvised. ¬†Dialogue overlaps, characters seem to actually be listening to what one another are saying.

To increase the believability of the performances is the documentary-style camera work. ¬†Although I will admit that it is one of the more sore spots as the the camera zoom just seemed artificial at times. ¬†I remember one scene where John is walking away from us where it seemed like every time he got five feet further, the camera did a really fast zoom-in to catch up. ¬†I know this might be something I just don’t get, but it seemed rather unnecessary.

So bottom line, I enjoyed the performances a lot, the movie has some pretty good humor (although our preview audience was a little over zealous with their laughter), and some great, heartfelt drama. ¬†I dug it, but it won’t be everyone’s favorite movie.

]]> http://mediabreach.com/2010/03/05/sxsw-2010-preview-cyrus/feed/ 2 http://mediabreach.com/2010/02/22/trailer-get-him-to-the-greek/ http://mediabreach.com/2010/02/22/trailer-get-him-to-the-greek/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:00:29 +0000 James http://mediabreach.com/?p=2627 Oh, hey look. A trailer that sells itself without being a redband. Russell Brand reprises his role as Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Check it out and tell us what you think!

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