Video reviews: 'Hedge' works in all the right places

Mike Pearson, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, October 20, 2006

Over the Hedge

DreamWorks. DVD. 83 min. Rated PG. $19.95.

Grade: B+

Over the Hedge is a comedy about what happens when man and nature collide.

Being an animated movie, it's naturally told from the animals' point of view.

The plot finds resourceful raccoon RJ (voice by Bruce Willis) given two weeks to replace the food supply he stole from a grouchy bear. Trouble is, the bear likes junk food. Human junk food.

In search of such treats, RJ stumbles upon an enclave of animals living in a small patch of woods surrounded by a housing development. They wake up from hibernation to find that their world is infinitely smaller (i.e. surrounded by hedges).

Can RJ con them into helping him gather goodies? Not by being honest or letting himself be outflanked by the group's leader, a cautious turtle named Verne (Garry Shandling). Instead, he plays to the taste buds of the remaining critters: a porcupine family (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as parents); a family of opossums (led by dad William Shatner); a sulking skunk (Wanda Sykes); and a hyperactive squirrel (Steve Carell).

This being a family film, you know there's a moral. Eventually RJ must decide if he fears losing his new friends more than his life. There is also that critter-hating head of the homeowners' association to be dealt with.

In Over the Hedge, the animation and voices are perfectly matched. Willis is cheeky as a conniving RJ, Sykes is feisty as a misunderstood skunk, and Shatner does a nice job of spoofing his own reputation for overacting.

What attracted Shatner to the film?

"The script was cute," he said in a recent phone interview. "The appeal is that it's easy, it's fun and it's family."

Over the Hedge is Shatner's second animated movie this year (The Wild being the other). He confesses a special fondness for animation.

"Snow White was my first film," he recalled. "I still have a memory of seeing it in a dark movie theater in Montreal with my father and staying at least two if not three times. I hope kids have as good a time with Over the Hedge as I had with Snow White."

Over the Hedge might not be perfect (Ben Folds' limp songs drip across the scenes like syrup), but you'll be too busy marveling at the synergy of animation and words to care.

The Break-Up

Universal. DVD. 107 min. Rated PG-13. $29.98.

Grade: C+

A comedy about two people falling out of love? That's the conceit of The Break-Up, which mines for humor in broken hearts.

Small wonder it doesn't quite work. Who wants to see a movie about pain?

Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston are the aforementioned partners, lovers who wake up one day to find they no longer like each other. But they own a pricey condo together and neither wants to move out. Living together becomes a battle of wills.

They claim rooms in the house, try to turn their friends against the other and date new people trying to get emotional revenge. You just know they're still in love.

Of course, knowing and wanting to sit through this battle of the sexes are different things. The lead performances are smart enough, but this is one of those movies where the supporting cast (Judy Davis, Jason Bateman) steals the show. Plus the humor is caustic; to show an ounce of compassion would scald these people.

It might have helped if we had a sense of why the two leads were ever attracted to each other. Not seeing the start of this three-year relationship (save for a five minute back story), we can't quite measure their fall from grace. What's behind their hostility?

Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought a comedy should make you laugh, not cringe waiting for the next verbal assault. Some might argue The Break-Up is a great first date movie with its he said/she said spin. I say sure - if you don't want a second date.

Slither

Universal. DVD, HD-DVD. 96 min. Rated R. $29.98/$39.98.

Grade: C

Slither melds the B-movie tone of the '50s with the camp horror panache of the '80s. It's Night of the Living Dead meets Tremors, yet ultimately the equal of neither.

A meteor lands in a rural Midwestern community, and spills its cargo - a giant slug - into the forest. Soon that slug infects a local man, who is compelled to infect others. He does so by impaling them on giant tentacles coming out of his chest.

Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) doesn't believe there's a man beast on the loose, even as the creature gobbles up cattle and dogs. Bill's besotted with pert school teacher Starla (Elizabeth Perkins), whose husband was the first one infected. She still sort of loves him, even though he now resembles Jabba the Hut.

Things go from bad to worse when a local woman is kidnapped and impregnated. She swells to the size of a garage and starts popping out baby slugs by the thousands.

The first half of Slither is so bloated with exposition you're not sure it's worth the bother of sticking around. The second half is a celebration of gore.

Give writer-director James Gunn credit for exploring the comic possibilities of the horror genre. The jokes aren't all that funny, but his enthusiasm is evident.

Credit also the special effects people. Through a combination of CGI and puppets, the alien creatures come to impressive life. This is no visual feast for the tepid; people get impaled, decapitated and subject to all manner of visceral tortures.

So what's missing? How about suspense? Slither seldom makes you flinch. Camp production values are fine, but a horror movie that doesn't make our pulse gallop is called a drama.

Mike Pearson is features editor. pearsonm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2592.