Just when you thought Hollywood couldn’t stoop any lower, here comes this movie that blatantly steals an idea. You might be wondering what idea the movie steals, welllllll, I’ll tell you. This movie is a brazen rip off of the popular children’s book Mr. Fletcher’s Pigeons, written by yours truly. I’m so mad I’m calling my lawyer.
What Works: I like this movie in spite of itself and even though it committed clear plagiarism. I think kids and audiences will like this movie more than adults though, and the whole thing is pretty warmed over. Still, Jim Carrey smuggles a few laughs into the mix.
What Doesn’t Work: Casting Jim Carrey in the lead role might have saved this from becoming some God awful shit-fest like Alvin in the Chipmunks or the upcoming Smurfs movie (if you weren’t serious about making a good movie you’d be watching a second tier actor like Jason Lee or Neil Patrick Harris care for those penguins), but his casting makes you feel how similar this movie is to some of his other work. It borrows some of the same plot of Liar, Liar or Bruce Almighty in that Carrey is a sharkish hot shot who gets a crash course in what’s important in life. The formula has never felt more stale and I’m beginning to wonder if Carrey’s appeal is so dated he’ll never reclaim his 90’s glory. He’s a PG-13 relic in an R rated world, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like the guy or wish he’d finally make the transition to serious actor he started in The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It seems to me that that world suits him better now.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Made Mr. Fletcher’s Pigeons instead! Picture this, a crusty but lovable hobo named Bojangles is on the fast track to a roast beef sandwich when some pigeons give him a crash course in what’s important in life.
LMAO
Mr. Fletcher’s pigeons doesn’t sound bad.