Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller Starring: voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Theatrical Release: September 18, 2009 Shop for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Merchandise

Plot Summary

When hard times hit Swallow Falls, its townspeople can only afford to eat sardines. Flint Lockwood, a failed inventor, thinks he has the answer to the town’s crisis. He builds a machine that converts water into food, and becomes a local hero when tasty treats fall from the sky like rain. But when the machine spins out of control and threatens to bury the whole world under giant mounds of food, Flint finds he may have bitten off more than he can chew. (from Fandango.com)

Film Review

“Random” humor is an acquired taste. While I more often than not appreciate a good random and intentionally silly shot at humor, there are some who not only don’t understand it or appreciate it, but in turn are almost offended by the very attempt at random and silly humor. One of my favorite animated movies of all-time was Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove, released in 2000. Entirely random, while done in a classic hand-drawn animated style, the Disney feature felt more like a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon than something released by the famous family entertainment studio. Being a Sony Pictures animated flick (and based on a childrens book), Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs doesn’t need to feel like a Disney film in any way, opting for more of the DreamWorks formula than anything. The end result is a gloriously random and awfully funny animated adventure.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs bears one of those unconventional titles that sums up the movie well despite at the same time threatening to just being a completely forgettable animated B-movie. Thankfully, Cloudy… is anything but, and feels like a quality venture from beginning to end. Sony’s previous animated features, which started with 2006′s Open Season, are decent outings, but lack a bit of the longetivity that the Disney (including Pixar) and DreamWorks efforts often offer. The voice cast of Cloudy… is also especially modest, which actually allows for the characters to not be overshadowed by the star power. Instead, sharp writing and unique, stylized animation allow for the film to succeed in the areas that count most.

SNL talent Bill Hader’s voicing of Flint Lockwood is a solid effort and Anna Faris (of whom I’m not very fond of) does a fantastic job bringing enough spunk, charm, and irresistible nerdiness to her role of Weather News Network intern Sam Sparks. Flint and Sam have a great chemistry as well, and the film takes plenty of time to let their relationship develop naturally. The rest of the voice cast does a swell job as well, including James Caan as Flint’s impossible to please father, Bruce Campbell as the town’s twisted mayor, and the famous Mr. T as policeman Earl Devereaux. The story is pretty swift moving and original from start to finish, with very few moments that can be predicted. And just when you think you might know where the story’s headed, there are a few surprises tossed in to keep it fun and fresh.

When it comes to content, the film earns its PG rating by being just a bit more abrasive than most animated family features. The town’s mayor uses the phrase “H*ll hole,” while Flint mutters a “cr*p” later on in the film. Aside from that, a couple of the gags can be a bit violent, with the most obvious one also being one of the film’s funniest moments. When it comes to kids wanting to imitate something they see, it’ll for sure be a moment where Sam explains what a snowball fight is to Flint, which inspires him to go on a rampage, smashing random people in the face with snowballs of ice cream in rough and violent ways. Most of his victims sit up and smile, but it’s the kind of thing that wouldn’t be smiled upon in a real life situation (especially by the parents of said kids who might imitate this action). Also, there’s A LOT of food in this movie, and while it does eventually cast a shadow upon the idea that gorging yourself on any kind of food you want isn’t healthy for you, the movie does make junk food and large quantities of food look like a blast. Definitely don’t see this one on an empty stomach!

The film’s greatest strength — its randomness and originality — may also be its biggest weakness. The film’s finale is not only a series of some of the most random (albeit food-related) series of events, but it may be so unexpected for this story that it just feels maybe too preposterous (and for a movie like this one, that’s saying a lot)? If anything, the ending takes a few too many cues from sci-fi disaster films (like Wars Of The Worlds or Independence Day), but it’s all executed in a fairly unique way. It’s the kind of premise that allows for the absurdity of it all to only seem expected and natural to the story, so in the end, you can’t help but feel like it still works as a whole. I do have a feeling, however, that with repeat viewings, I’ll be able to appreciate such an outcome, but upon first viewing, I was surprised by the sci-fi-ish direction they decided to take it.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is an entertaining outing that thrives on originality and creativity to put together a truly enjoyable animated feature experience. Some viewers will have trouble getting past just how ridiculous and silly most of it really is, but there’s something endearing about these characters… and some kind of guilty pleasure in seeing it rain down free food from the sky. If you’re looking for a light comedy with lots of laughs and an exercising of the imagination, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs serves up just the right forecast for fun.

Also See – DTW Blu-ray/DVD Review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs