JoJo Rabbit new film from Taika Waititi

Loved it!!!

 

I think Mel Brooks has a lot more expertise in the field of comedy than she does. When she makes a film as funny as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles, she can tell me what I can or can't laugh at.

Mel also served in WWII, so he's an expert in that area as well.

 

It's beyond me how anyone would use the word "whimsical" to describe this film

 

I'm not entirely sure this cretin actually saw the film.

 

I agree. Makes no sense.

 

It's still at my local AMC as well! That's the good thing about a 22-screen complex: it keeps movies forever.

Might only be one showing a day, but at least it's still there!

 

I suspect they're holding it, even if only with one showing on one screen per day, until the Oscar nominations come out. It got nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy, and the twelve-year-old lead got nominated as Best Actor.

They might be able to expand it to fill the crater that was left by Cats.

If the studio executives aren't complete idiots, they could capitalize on Mel Brooks's rave: "I loved it. It was a wonderful movie."

Or maybe bring back that beloved old Saturday Night Live fake commercial for The Amazing Alexander "I loved it. It was much better than Cats. I going to see it again and again."

 

This is the same AMC that kept "Addams Family" forever, so I don't think they're concerned solely about awards!

 

Yes, but awards will put some butts in seats.

 

Who would make a whimsical film about Nazis?

 

They do, but I doubt my AMC will still have the movie when Oscar noms come out. They're not due for what, 3 or 4 weeks?

 

Award season is getting shorter and shorter.

 

Looks like most of the folks here liked this film a lot more than I did. It was certainly interesting and different, but I wouldn't go as far as to pile accolades on it. In my opinion, the split personality of the tone of the film made it not quite work. For instance, there was no dramatic tension in the scene when Stephen Merchant and his boys arrive - they are as cartoonish (more so) than the Nazis from "Hogan's Heroes". So the drama really doesn't hold up, for me, played against that comic backdrop. In that regard, the big reveal scene (which would have been quite effective in a different movie) is not a logical extension of the plot and tone of the film, it's pure manipulation. And am I really the only one who was distracted by the wavering accents? If they were consistently terrible, or all that odd English accent that populated the "Frankenstein" movies, it would have been less distracting than having them go haphazardly back and forth. In the later scenes, JoJo's friend gives up trying to do a German accent entirely.

 

I will check this out. I saw the Hunt for the Wildepeople and it was hilarious.

 

RayS —

The cartoonishness of the Nazis was, to me, an extension of the 10-year old’s POV.

It did nothing to lessen the tension of those scenes, since the film makes it quite clear that they are capable of the most horrible acts.

 

Or they may have just committed one, which is why Kritzendorf hurried over.

 

No offense, but that makes no sense. A 10-year-old would have been terrified of them and what they were capable of, not found them to be incompetent dimwits. The two wildly different tones in the movie cannot be reconciled, in my opinion.

 

Ray - look at the childlike cartoonish Hitler. That’s the POV of a 10-year old. That viewpoint permeates the film.

 

But it doesn’t permeate the movie. A number of dramatic scenes (including the most talked about one) don’t have that viewpoint at all.

 

All I can say in addition is that I’ve not seen another criticism like this one. It certainly worked for me.

 

Here’s one:
Nazi comedy Jojo Rabbit misplaces Taika Waititi's abundant reserves of charm and humanity

 

But, that’s really just an objection to mixing comedy with horror.

This comes down to aesthetics, and I thoroughly disagree with this critic’s self-imposed rules about film’s depicting Nazi’s.

 

There’s a reason Schultz never shot one of the POWs. It would have taken all the humor out of the next “I know nothing” bit.

I never get the impression that the kid is actually swallowing all the race hatred being dished his way. And his admiration for Hitler would not have manifested itself in a buffoonish imaginary friend, but a strong and courageous one. All that would be forgiven if the film didn’t try to make a left turn into realistic drama. But it does and the two wildly divergent tones can’t be reconciled. “The Producers” didn’t suddenly get all serious on us, thankfully. Nor did “What We Do in the Shadows”.

 

Hence, the acclaim this film is garnering. It’s quite daring in mixing these elements.

 

Yeah, Chaplin was daring when he did it, and he pulled it off. This film tried it and failed, in my opinion.