Most overrated film on DVD

[calimac]

Whale Rider. Not enough whales in this movie. Instead, this tired old plot: stubborn old man refuses to believe his granddaughter can be just as good as a boy. After being beaten over the head with her talents and abilities for an interminable two hours, he finally gets a clue. The end. All the other characters got it in about the first fifteen minutes. One could make a good story on this theme if there were only any more to it, but there isn't. Cliche after cliche. Two thumbs down. As B. put it, "We could have watched an episode of Xena instead. It would have been shorter, and much better paced."

One does learn a bit about Maori culture from this film. For one thing, I hadn't known they fight with quarterstaffs while making faces like John Belushi's parody of a samurai. I could have lived a long time without learning that. Also memorable: the old man's keening wail, left untranslated but clearly renderable as "Oy vey is mir! My grandson, that should have been, is a girl!"

If there's such a thing as multi-cultural education that subtracts instead of adds to enlightenment, this is it. If only I had read Mick LaSalle's killer review before, instead of after, renting this pretentious film. Should have rented Freaky Friday instead.

Comments

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Trailers that tell the whole story seem to be the only genre of trailers there are these days. However, there are films that appear to be nothing but the trailer plus padding, and at least this is not one of those.

However, it is a film whose title gives away the whole story. Knowing the title, and learning at the start of an ancient chief who literally rode the whales, one waits for the girl to do it, and knows the film is finally almost over when, of course, she does.