Glued to the tube
I watched two movies this weekend - 13 Going on 30 and The Station Agent.
First, The Station Agent. There's really not much of a plot to this movie. The primary character is Finn, a dwarf who works in a model train store. When the store's owner dies, Finn discovers that the man (quite possibly his only friend) willed him a small train depot. Finn moves to the depot, most likely planning to live the life of a hermit and grieve the death of his friend. Two new friends - the lonely Olivia (struggling with the death of her son and the dissolution of her marriage) and goofy Joe (who runs a hotdog stand near the depot and seems desperate for companionship) - seem to have other plans. It doesn't sound like much to hang a movie on, but I thought this was a great character-driven film. The performances turned in by all of the primary actors - Peter Dinklage as Finn, Patricia Clarkson as Olivia, and Bobby Cannavale as Joe - were exceptional. At first, I had a hard time warming up to Finn. However, the viewer quickly realizes that Finn has developed a tough hide in order to better endure the cruelties of being a dwarf. By the end of the movie, Dinklage allowed the character to soften a bit, and he ended up winning me over. Cannavale had some masterful scenes. He does such a good job of playing the well-meaning but somewhat annoying sidekick that it is difficult not to fall in love with him immediately. Clarkson, who seems at first a ditzy artist, quickly turns such pigeonholing on its ear, displaying remarkable depth when discussing her dead son and her failing marriage.
All in all, this is a great movie about what it is to be someone who both craves isolation and companionship.
13 Going on 30 is a super-sweet Big for girls. After a particularly awful 13th birthday party, Jenna (played by Jennifer Gardner) wishes she could skip her teenage years and go directly to the "thirty, flirty, and thriving" that she reads about in Poise magazine. When Jenna wakes up, she's just that - thirty years old, with a killer apartment in New York and a job as a top editor at Poise. However, the more she discovers who she's become in search of her ideal life, the less she recognizes herself. Jenna looks up an old elementary school friend, Matt (played by Mark Ruffalo), and she realizes that she made some serious mistakes in her life. Naturally, Jenna is given the chance to go back and correct any errors when she's returned to her true age - 13 - and allowed to live the life she was meant to live.
Ok, so the premise of this story is far-fetched. And it's almost saccharine in its sweetness. But between Gardner and Ruffalo, 13 Going on 30 pulls it all off. Gardner, in a true comedic role, shines. Her goofy enthusiasm and wide-eyed innocence are pitch-perfect for this film. Ruffalo's open-hearted devotion to Jenna, as well as his reluctance to break his fiancee's heart, are also well-played. While this was a movie that I wasn't sure I would enjoy, enjoy it I did. It's a great family film. You can check your intellect at the door and just relax into this feel-good movie.
First, The Station Agent. There's really not much of a plot to this movie. The primary character is Finn, a dwarf who works in a model train store. When the store's owner dies, Finn discovers that the man (quite possibly his only friend) willed him a small train depot. Finn moves to the depot, most likely planning to live the life of a hermit and grieve the death of his friend. Two new friends - the lonely Olivia (struggling with the death of her son and the dissolution of her marriage) and goofy Joe (who runs a hotdog stand near the depot and seems desperate for companionship) - seem to have other plans. It doesn't sound like much to hang a movie on, but I thought this was a great character-driven film. The performances turned in by all of the primary actors - Peter Dinklage as Finn, Patricia Clarkson as Olivia, and Bobby Cannavale as Joe - were exceptional. At first, I had a hard time warming up to Finn. However, the viewer quickly realizes that Finn has developed a tough hide in order to better endure the cruelties of being a dwarf. By the end of the movie, Dinklage allowed the character to soften a bit, and he ended up winning me over. Cannavale had some masterful scenes. He does such a good job of playing the well-meaning but somewhat annoying sidekick that it is difficult not to fall in love with him immediately. Clarkson, who seems at first a ditzy artist, quickly turns such pigeonholing on its ear, displaying remarkable depth when discussing her dead son and her failing marriage.
All in all, this is a great movie about what it is to be someone who both craves isolation and companionship.
13 Going on 30 is a super-sweet Big for girls. After a particularly awful 13th birthday party, Jenna (played by Jennifer Gardner) wishes she could skip her teenage years and go directly to the "thirty, flirty, and thriving" that she reads about in Poise magazine. When Jenna wakes up, she's just that - thirty years old, with a killer apartment in New York and a job as a top editor at Poise. However, the more she discovers who she's become in search of her ideal life, the less she recognizes herself. Jenna looks up an old elementary school friend, Matt (played by Mark Ruffalo), and she realizes that she made some serious mistakes in her life. Naturally, Jenna is given the chance to go back and correct any errors when she's returned to her true age - 13 - and allowed to live the life she was meant to live.
Ok, so the premise of this story is far-fetched. And it's almost saccharine in its sweetness. But between Gardner and Ruffalo, 13 Going on 30 pulls it all off. Gardner, in a true comedic role, shines. Her goofy enthusiasm and wide-eyed innocence are pitch-perfect for this film. Ruffalo's open-hearted devotion to Jenna, as well as his reluctance to break his fiancee's heart, are also well-played. While this was a movie that I wasn't sure I would enjoy, enjoy it I did. It's a great family film. You can check your intellect at the door and just relax into this feel-good movie.
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