Atlantic Pictures (II), Laundry Films, Northern Lights Films,
Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel, Alia Shawkat, Bobby Moynihan, Billy Magnussen
John (Michael Angarano) and Alice (Juno Temple) are a couple in a bit of trouble. They work hard, but there just isn’t enough money to go around. Their marriage is nearly on the rocks, when Alice brings home an old brass teapot she picked up. Through a strange coincidence she finds out how it works. There is no genie who pops out to grant wishes, but rather the teapot will give you money anytime one of the owners gets hurt, either physically or emotionally. They start out small, with a slap in the face or a punch in the stomach, but in order to get the money they need they have to get more and more violent with each other to keep up. The set a goal, and begin hurting each other and themselves until they are able to reach the amount. But in the meantime a number of characters find out that they have the teapot and either want to get it from them, or to warn them of how dangerous this thing is. In the end, it’s John and Alice who have to figure out how far they ware willing to go, and how much is really enough.
This is a really strange film. But it’s based on a comic book series, and there was a short subject made in 2007 based on the same story. This is the feature version, and so a lot of stuff is added. There’s a lot of crossed stories going on, and this is a film with a funny concept, with lots of chuckles and pratfalls, but with many lessons and morals to show us. It’s not preachy, but it does show us the evils of greed in a big way. It’s a little movie that didn’t get any attention when it came out, but it’s an interesting study in human nature with a bunch of good laughs thrown in. It does get a bit like the Three Stooges of old with the poke in the eye type stuff, but there’s a lot of other levels and some really interesting odd characters to watch at well, so you probably won’t be bored. It’s not a movie at all, but if you like this kind of off the wall humor, it could be a nice rental. I kind of enjoyed it, actually.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
