A Meaty Movie Experience

If you prefer the shorter audio version edited from the radio, take a listen.

Audio Review:

Here’s a movie that will give you something to chew on: It’s the new animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

In a coastal Atlantic fishing town called Swallow Falls, where life is dull and Baby Brent sardines are the daily sustenance, one budding scientist named Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live) dreams of bringing life back to his dreary town by inventing something that will bring him fame, fortune, and local approval.

But so far all his crazy gadgets – spray-on shoes, de-balding formula, a walking television, and a monkey thought translator – have made Flint the laughingstock of the neighborhood and caused nothing but trouble for him. Flint’s failed antics have earned him the ire of rule-conscious policeman Earl Devereaux (Mr. T, The A-Team); the disapproval of his technophobic father, Tim (James Caan, Sonny Corleone in The Godfather), who believes Flint should quit dreaming and take a job at the family-owned bait and tackle shop; and the mocking taunts of nemesis ‘Baby’ Brent McHale (Andy Samberg, I Love You, Man and SNL) who is the face on every can of sardines.

But Flint has one more invention to perfect – and if this one works, it will be the mother of all inventions, because it will turn ordinary water into any type of food you want. All Flint needs is one extra-large boost of electrical power, and he should get that supply from the power plant downtown.

Meanwhile, self-absorbed Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell, Burn Notice) gets ready to unveil his sardine-themed amusement park, which he hopes will bring tourists to the dying town. Here to cover this event is newly promoted and perky weather intern Sam Sparks (Anna Faris, The House Bunny), who hopes this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to report live on TV will catapult her to stardom.

While the townspeople are about to celebrate, Flint plugs his machine into the city grid, causing cataclysmic results. His out-of-control machine crashes through town, ruining the Mayor’s exhibits and Sam’s chance at a successful TV career, and launches into outer space.

But just when Flint and Sam are moaning about their washed-up careers, scrumptious food starts falling from the sky. Soon, everyone is applauding Flint for his genius invention, and the mayor quickly enlists the talents of Flint and Sam in order to rebuild his tourism campaign. Flint is tasked with creating daily menus to order for the town, and Sam is tasked with promoting this strange food-raining phenomenon to put the tiny town on the map and beckon curious tourists.

All is well until the greedy mayor asks for a non-stop stream of delicacies from Flint’s fabulous-but-overworked food machine. The machine goes haywire, dropping hunks of giant food from the sky and creating a dastardly tornado of flying spaghetti and meatballs. Suddenly, the townspeople are running for their lives.

Now, it’s up to Flint, Sam, Brent, Manny the cameraman (Benjamin Bratt, The Woodsman and Law & Order), and Flint’s monkey called Steve (Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother) to fight the Mayor’s gluttonous political plan, turn off the food machine, and save not just Swallow Falls, but the entire planet from certain food-related death.

Now for the meaty part. (Please excuse the bun, er… pun.)

Filled with food references, silly fishing metaphors, and imaginative genius, this PG animated film from Columbia Pictures/ Sony Pictures Animation is sure to be fun for the entire family. Kids will love the colorful and zany 3-D and IMAX experience and overall silliness. Adults will love the fabulous comic timing and quick wit of the voice talent and the film’s writers, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who adapted the storyline from the original Judi and Ron Barrett children’s book and also directed the film.

Sandwiched in-between this lively comic brilliance is a fairly thick slab of wisdom: Things like why too much of a good thing can be harmful (Policeman Devereaux’s overly indulgent son, Cal), the negative consequences of greed (the mayor), the dangers of an over-inflated ego (Brent and Flint), the very real issue of love hunger (Flint’s dealings with his dad), why seeking approval is not the best motivator (Flint), and how peer pressure can change us into something we are not (Sam).

Beyond the more obvious lessons learned by our cast of characters, there is one other take away for us as moviegoers: When all your dreams threaten to get swallowed up and you find yourself feeling like a little fish in a big sea, be careful you don’t get reeled into doing things for the wrong reasons.  Just can those insecure feelings, put a lid on your pride, and know that someone will respect you – even love you – for doing the right thing.

Two exhilarating thumbs up with meatballs on top. Don’t miss this one.

— Laura J. Bagby

Watch the trailer: