An enjoyable
rom-zom-com that is much better than it should be, above all due to the screen
presence of Lupita Nyong'o (of Us
[2019 / trailer]), looking absolutely smashing in her yellow
summer dress, an actress who, like Anya Taylor-Joy (of The Witch [2015 / trailer] & Marrowbone
[2017 / trailer]), is as talented as she is eye candy and
who tends to steal all scenes simply by being in them. But while Nyong'o does
definitely take over the movie once she appears as kindergarten teacher Miss
Caroline, the initial main focus of the arguably mistitled Little Monsters — a title that would better apply to a film like Cooties (2014), where the kids do indeed become little monsters, than a film
like this in which all the brats are actually ideal children and never turn —
is on a loser dickwad named Dave (Alexander England).
Trailer to
Little
Monsters:
An irresponsible and
washed-up guitarist who still dreams of making it big one day with his band,
despite the fact that the band has long disbanded, for much of the film he is
interested in no one but himself. And he isn't very interesting. In that sense, Little Monsters is as much about him growing as a person as it is
about a zombie outbreak, an outbreak which, combined with Miss Caroline's
dedication to her job and duty to keep her children safe (and her
breathtakingly wholesome allure), as well as the unquestioning and innocent
respect and camaraderie that Dave's young nephew Felix (Diesel La Torraca)
gives Dave, acts as the catalyst to make the self-involved,
late-20-something-year-old become a meaningful member of society, if not a
viable candidate for a job as an elementary school class assistant. (Do schools
still even have class assistants?) Oh, yeah: and get the girl.
Dave is introduced
during the credits, which show him and his girlfriend obnoxiously arguing
nonstop is a series of social situations – a caustically funny (if annoying)
opening that offers a good reflection of a relationship from hell. (Realistic
enough that if you've ever had a similar relationship, you might be tempted to
watch a different film. Don't.)
As a self-fixated enabler and egoist, Dave is not
observant enough to realize his own role in the lost cause, and once it
implodes and he ends up on the couch of his working single-mom sister, he can
only think about getting back together again. (One can only wonder why anyone
would want to be with him, though; his ex, in any event, is a lot easier to
understand as a person than he, but she is in the end a less-than-tertiary
character that disappears once no longer needed.)
His Darth Vader-fixated young
nephew is more than willing to help, which sets up the first truly funny scene
of the movie. Indeed, there is no scene in which Darth Vader appears that does
not work, including one in which a substantial amount of dread leads up to a
cute (if not highly relieving) resolution.
The movie hits its
stride when Felix's kindergarten class, headed by Miss Caroline, takes a day
trip to a nature farm where the popular kid's show host Teddy McGiggle (Josh
Gad) is making an appearance. Dave, smitten Miss Caroline (what cis-gender male
wouldn't be?), finagles his way onto the bus as chaperone in the hope of
getting the gal — a goal he would probably be doomed to fail at, were the shit
not to hit the fan. Even as they arrive, a zombie outbreak occurs at a nearby
military base, and before long Dave, Miss Caroline and the class appear to be
the only people at the nature park who aren't zombies.
And it is at that
point that film truly becomes enjoyable. It doesn't exactly skimp on the blood,
as the undead are as hungry as they are slow walkers, but most of the death and
gore occurs or is led up to in a manner that easily and often garners smiles
and laughs, and most if not all of the dialogue is trenchant and funny. And as
for Miss Caroline, she might be a sunshine babe, but behind that sweet and
polite demeanor is a strong woman with a definite sense of responsibility, and
it is just as much fun to watch how she uses her teacher skills to save her
kids as it is to see her get her dress blood-drenched through decisive hands-on
action. (That woman is a keeper!)
And her dedication and
resolve does something to Dave, as well: it helps him grow beyond himself, take
on responsibility, actively get involved in saving the children and not just
himself. His growth and corresponding actions are also played well against the
only other adult that has survived the zombie outbreak, the kid-hating and even-more
self-obsessed kid's show host Teddy McGiggles, a man who would be willing to
let a whole class of kids become zombie fodder before opening a door and
allowing them to enter a "safe" refuge.
As is often the case,
however, the final resolution is less than satisfying. They manner in which
they escape, and the sheer luck that intervenes and plays a role in their
survival, are both perfectly acceptable and humorous enough to be in line with the
narrative development of the whole movie. The mounting tension regarding how
the military might react as they get closer to the edges of the outbreak area
is also well-cultivated, even as the situation of the class garners giggles.
What doesn't work is the last five minutes, when the military talk to the
parents and then everyone goes to see the survivors behind glass in quarantine.
True, what one sees is only the culmination of Dave's journey to becoming a
better person, but it nevertheless feels fake and too sugary. It is an ending
that screams "rewrite me", and that shows that no one was listening.
It's a shame that after all that preceded that scene, the filmmakers couldn't
come up with a resolution a bit less G-rated and grating.
For all the good and
bad of Little Monsters, it is on the
whole and enjoyable zom com, one that you can even watch with your
non-zombie-loving relationship. (Even more so than that other rom-zom-com for non-zombie-loving significant others, Warm Bodies [2013 / trailer].) But truth be told, were it not for the way Lupita
Nyong'o literally steals the show and lights up every scene she's in (all the
while remaining believable as a character), the movie would probably be a
failure. She is an actor to watch, as she has talent to spare.
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