Daily Archive

Stars: Loren Horsley, Jermaine Clement

Reason for Watching: I saw the poster at the now-defunct Dupont Circle cinema, and I liked the name.

I Can Name This Movie In Three Notes: Napoleon Dynamite, but funny.  Where the characters are a little older.  And, very loosely, a romantic comedy.

You Should See This Movie Because: Eagle vs Shark is one of the funniest movies of 2007.  I really hated Napoleon Dynamite.  A lot.  So I don’t know how someone with bad taste will find this movie, but there are some hilarious lines and one or two really funny scenes.

It is also a pretty interesting twist on the traditional romantic comedy setup.  Not only is the chick the strong one in the relationship, but the dude is pretty unlikable.  I’d argue that more often than the woman, the man in the traditional romantic comedy is likable.  A bit off, sure, but be it John Cusack, Ashton Kutcher, Hugh Grant, or Billy Crystal, the male lead is (at least down deep) a charming guy with a heart of gold.  That’s not the case in this movie.

And I thought Loren Horsley and Jermaine Clement played some very compelling characters that start off interesting and remain that way for the entirety of the film.

You Shouldn’t See This Movie Because: At times, it tries too hard.  The animated bits were an interesting way to frame the movie, but I thought it was a little too cutesy.  Similarly, the Napoleon Dynamiteness can get tiring, at times.  The movie starts to drag some about 2/3 of the way through.

The supporting characters were nothing to write home about, though Jermaine Clement’s family did have a few funny moments.

I’m not quite sure why they named the movie Eagle vs Shark, but I guess it got me, so good for them.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a quirky comedy, give this one a whirl.