Susan Granger’s review of “Shorts” (Warner Bros.)
All about the futility of wish fulfillment, this is Robert Rodriguez’s best family film since “Spy Kids.”
Set in the suburban town of Black Hills, the story revolves around nerdy 11 year-old Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett), nicknamed “metal mouth” because of his braces. He’s in the depths of despair because he’s ruthlessly picked on by classmates Helvetica (Joie Vanier) Black and her brother Cole (Devon Gearhart). Bullying runs in the family, since the Black siblings’ father (James Spader) is the ruthless CEO of Black Box Industries, where Toe’s workaholic parents (Leslie Mann, Jon Cryer) are forced to compete against one another in research-and-development.
Toe’s life changes completely when he finds a mysterious Rainbow Rock that has the power to grant wishes. But he’s not the only one who gets his hands on the colorful stone. Actually, the Short brothers – Loogie (Trevor Gagnon), Lug (Rebel Rodriguez) and Laser (Leo Howard) – find it first, creating neighborhood chaos when they wish for a stone fortress, guarded by venomous snakes and ravenous crocodiles that can walk on their hind legs – not to mention a never-ending supply of chocolate bars. Holy peanut-butter cups! Things get even weirder when germ phobic Dr. Noseworthy (William H. Macy) and his son (Jake Short) are forced to battle The Big, Bad Booger.
Told out of chronological order in interwoven snippets, it’s a cautionary fable, filled with developmental wisdom like “Friends can’t be wished into existence; you have to work for them.” And adult advice, like texting doesn’t replace talking insofar as relationships go.
Robert Rodriguez is writer/director/cinematographer/editor/composer and CG-visual effects creator. As father of five children, he credits his son Rebel for the idea after watching “The Little Rascals,” noting, “When my kids want to show me something funny on TV, they’ll use the DVR to speed up the good parts so I see the story zipping by. Once they have me hooked, they’ll circle back and show me the middle, rewinding to the start.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Shorts” is a small-fry 7, filled with hilarious fun that kids will love.
