Monday, February 04, 2019

"Christopher Robin": remark

This won't count as a full-on review because there simply isn't much to say. I watched "Christopher Robin" the other night—the movie starring Ewan McGregor as a grown-up Christopher Robin from the AA Milne stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. This is a live-action interpretation of the Milne stories, with the animals being animated CGI characters that vary from actual talking animals (Rabbit, Owl) to actual talking stuffed animals (everyone else), just as in the old stories. As with Spielberg's "Hook," the focus is on a grown-up version of a childish/childlike character who has lost all sense of magic and fun. "Christopher Robin" obviously has good intentions, but it falls constantly into movie cliché and makes only the weakest of stabs at real humor.

Dragging, un-funny, and too preachy by half, the movie proved tedious to me. I noticed about halfway through the viewing that absolutely zero character development had occurred: Pooh and the older Christopher had essentially the same fucking conversation at least five goddamn times—something along the lines of "Why are you such a dreadful bore, now, Christopher Robin?" "Well, adult life means adult responsibilities." And that about sums things up for two-thirds of the movie. By the time things get moving in the third reel, it's too little, too late. Shoot this lame horse.



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