The Willoughbys

“If you love stories about families that stick together and love each other through thick and thin and it all ends happily ever after…this isn’t the film for you, okay?”

That’s how The Willoughbys (available on Netflix) begins.  A narrator introduces this witty riff on classic children tales by authors like Charles Dickens and P. L. Travers.   It turns out, the storyteller is actually a stray blue tabby cat who comments on everything he oversees.  He’s drolly voiced by comedian Ricky Gervais.  The parents (Martin Short & Jane Krakowski) are dysfunctional to say the least.  Apparently, mom and dad have so much affection for each other that they have nothing left to give to their kids.  Unfortunately, these adults don’t hide their lack of affection for their offspring.   There’s sensible eldest child Tim (Will Forte), cheerful middle child Jane (Alessia Cara), and creepy twin boys Barnaby and Barnaby.  Yes, the two were given the same name. Fed up with their parent’s distressing lack of parenting skills, the youngsters devise a plan  to make themselves orphans.  It’s not as gruesome as it sounds.  The kids simply entice their wicked parents to take a vacation that might prove hazardous to their health.  The moppets merely wish to experience their own happy ending.  Nothing wrong with that, right?!

If one word defines this work of fiction, it’s zany.  Director Kris Pearn also helmed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 in 2013, and this has the same goofy aesthetic.  More sober viewers may struggle to keep up with the account’s frantic pace.  As a matter of fact, I am talking about myself.  The dialogue (screenplay by Pearn and Mark Stanleigh) is rapid-fire and consists not so much of jokes, but a myriad of random plot developments.  One focuses on actor Terry Crews as Commander Melanoff — a merry owner of a candy factory.  Holy shades of Willy Wonka!  Later when the juveniles discover an abandoned baby, they leave the infant on his doorstep.  Another development highlights comedian Maya Rudolph as Linda — a kooky nanny.  She somewhat suggests Mary Poppins — that is if she were a disorderly mess.   In fact, the whole saga is the very definition of chaotic confusion.

I have always appreciated a distinct lack of saccharine in my children’s fables.  Novelist Roald Dahl is an enduring favorite of mine.  The Willoughbys is based on a 2008 novel by Lois Lowry (Number the Stars, The Giver).  This feature has been frequently compared in print to the work of Roald Dahl as well as Lemony Snicket.  Yes, I’ll admit those are valid comparisons.  Yet this is so much more hyper than the works inspired by those writers.  The production is defined by a frenetic narrative that rarely stops to take a pause.    I never developed an emotional attachment to these characters.  However, I did slowly warm up to the film’s wacky approach.  Perhaps I was worn down by the movie’s admitted — albeit relentless — charm.  The creative silliness ultimately won me over.

04-22-20