'Anaconda' Has a Sharp Bite to the Funny Bone
Whether you’re a fan of Anaconda or not, there’s much to like about this movie. There’s also a sense of aging as you watch the film. Anaconda was released in 1997. 28 years ago. The characters in this movie are middle-aged men, plus one woman. The film reminds us that, as we age, things change. We work in professions we’re not thrilled with, while trying to maintain a family life in which it’s up to the adults to recreate the magic they once had as kids for their own children. But what happens when the adults want to still be kids?
Have you ever seen the fan remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark? It was made on a shoestring budget by two kids who shot-for-shot recreated the film. This led them to be greeted by Steven Spielberg, who showed them a print of Raiders. If you know about this little story, then you’ll probably be able to predict what the plot of Anaconda is. The movie has a unique charm that reminds us that, in some ways, nostalgia can be productive. In other ways, it can be dangerous.
Doug McCaliister (Jack Black) is a once-hopeful filmmaker who’s a wedding videographer living in a nice house with his family. While Ronald Griffin Jr. (Paul Rudd) is an actor who’s never made it anywhere, always reciting a show that came on decades ago for a role he was cut from. Then there’s Thandie Newton’s character, who just comes across as an addition to the cast rather than having the film’s heart set around it. The film is more of a duo than a trio, and perhaps for the best. Newton isn’t a comedic actor, while Rudd and Black are. In some comedies, actors playing the material straight work. Like Liam Neeson in The Naked Gun. If Neeson or a serious actor of his caliber were cast in something like the Minecraft Movie, it wouldn’t work as well, since it's targeted at kids.
This film has an impressive double target that it achieves, hitting. It’s aimed at teens and parents who grew up loving a movie from 1997. You don’t have to see Anonconda to get the jokes. Yet the jokes aren’t entirely hammy or stupid. They’re clever and zany. I didn’t know that “pee shy” was a term. The film's message is heartfelt, if not a bit too mushy. When Ron reunites with Doug on his birthday, he gets the idea to go to the Amazon, where they’ll make their own version of Anaconda. Initially politely resistant, Doug’s wife tells him to go out and do what his heart wants. I’m sorry, what? Are you going to encourage your husband and the father of your child to risk losing his life in a jungle to fulfill some childhood dream? I’d like to say that’s unbelievable, but there are people out there who encourage dumb decisions. Have you ever seen Grizzly Man?
The movie is very childlike in its mindset. It’s a strawberry-flavored fruit roll-up of nostalgia. If set against the real world, these men would likely be dead, divorced, or in need of therapy. But we have to remember that this is a movie involving someone urinating on someone else’s leg. The logic and even the message are too simplistic, yet for a strict comedy piece like this, simplicity is just fine.
Come into this movie with moderate expectations and leave with your kids wanting to see the original Anaconda with you. That’s the goal of the movie, and it achieves that design as well as it should. It’s best to watch this film without any trailers, let alone IMDB research, which can spoil one of the film’s most crowd-pleasing moments. The movie is loaded with great scenes that earn laughs. If you’re looking for a feel-good time at the movies during Christmas, this would be your best bet.
