What do you get when a 74-year-old dementia patient and a robot team up to rob the rich? It seems that Robot & Frank was custom-tailored for Frank Langella, a master actor who only late in life has gotten his due.
The movie is actually an extension of a 10-year-old short by first-time director Jake Schreier and writer Christopher D. Ford. However, with Langella at the centerâ┚¬â€Âdespite some small misstepsâ┚¬â€Âthis small sci-fi film is a definite charmer.
Frank (Langella) is a retired cat burglar whose memory is failing him. His worried, harried son Marsden buys Frank a robot caretaker (voiced by Sarsgarrd). Frank at first hates the demanding automated nursemaid. Frank feels his flirtations with local librarian Sarandon and his lazy lifestyle will be hampered. However, the old manâ┚¬â€Âwhose health seems to be getting worseâ┚¬â€Âdecides that the amoral robot would make a perfect accomplice for a few last burglaries.
There are a couple glitches in the program of this buddy flick. A couple characters disappear and reappear as needed. (Maybe this is symbolic of Frank's memory loss.) Also, some of the later editing is edgier and more confusing than it needs to be.
Still, the dialogue is snappy, and the film clips along at 88 minutes. Finally, kudos to the team for making something that could have been cloying and overly sweet instead pack a few surprises in performance, theme, and plot
Okay, so every tweener's favorite vampire teams up with violent director auteur David Cronenberg to film an un-filmable Don De Lillo novel. It sounds like the punch line to a joke. If only it were.
Pattinson is a 28-year-old, rich wunderkind whose fortune is being wiped out in one day by a risky stock gamble. He seems unaffected. Instead, he rides around a metropolis in his tricked-out stretch limousine. People protest Wall Street fat cats, and the president is also in town somewhere. Pattinson, though, wants a haircut. On the way, he conducts long, windy conversations with business partners and his new wife. Most of these are cold, theoretical dialogues. In between, Pattinson has meaningless sex. Oh, and apparently someone wants him dead.
We all want this character dead. He's an automaton, lifeless, uninteresting, and unworthy of a film.
DeLillo writes famous novels about probability and happenstance. His meandering books are chock full of ideas instead of plot. That's his gimmick. However, movies are plot, so this experiment is aimless. Even Cronenberg cannot breathe life into it.
One can see why Cronenberg was drawn to the theme and the later violence. One can guess that Pattinson was hoping to gain some cred working with the directorâ┚¬â€Âthough his fans are going to be disappointed. In fact, no oneâ┚¬â€Ânot even fat catsâ┚¬â€Âwill feel they got their money's worth.
For a bawdy, goofy comedy, there's a surprising center of truth. American people don't influence their politicians anymore. Lobbyists, big budget billionaires and corporations run the show now. Pick a party and check the donations, and you'll find that less than 6% comes from average Americans. We lackeys merely sit back, watch the mudslinging, and then vote for the candidate whose commercials most support our preconceived biases. (Yes, I have an opinion. I am a critic, you know.)
Farrell is Cam Brady, a four-time Democrat Senator up for re-election. When he gets caught philandering, corporations decide he's out of style. They put their cash behind North Carolina oddball Republican Galifianakis. Based on shifting donations and allegiancesâ┚¬â€Âand a few stunningly funny mishapsâ┚¬â€ÂThe Campaign quickly turns ugly just likeâ┚¬Â¦well, every other American election.
Director Jay Roach is better known for Adam Sandler stuff, so his light approach colors the whole red, white, and blue affair. Gratuitous sex and inappropriate humor reign.
However, just like politicians, Farrell and Galifianakis seem to have no bead on their characters. Neither is consistent, and each lacks fortitude and drive, merely doing what seems humorous until they need to deliver the film's simple message. It's not a bad approachâ┚¬â€Âand the honesty is niceâ┚¬â€Âbut The Campaign isn't a game changer. And what America needs is a game changer.
