Wild for ‘Wild Things’
„ • If you were bom sometime between 1960 and now, you
Staff Writer likely are familiar with Where The Wild Things Are ” the
BBBso34@psu edu stoi y of the overly rambunctious Max who is dropped into a
world of monsters that, like him, get a little cra2y at times.
The 36-page book has been translated into a two-hour film, directed by the capable Spike
Jonze and scripted by the indie-credible Dave Eggers, author of the fantastic memoir
“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” and co-founder of McSweeney’s. While
children’s books have rarely made great material for movies, for example “The Cat in the
Hat” or “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” the movie manages to faithfully merge the
original image of its creators and the core storyline of the beloved book in a fashion both
epic and heartwarming.
The story follows as thus both in the book and the movie: Max, after a dispute with his
mother, is transported to the land of “Wild Things”. There, he stares down the monsters
who inhabit the world and becomes their king.-He soon learns the importance of controlling
his emotions and treating others with respect. In the movie, however, the cast is greatly
built upon and slight changes are made to the story, like instead of his room magically
turning into the forest as in the book, Max runs away from home and sails to the forest on
an abandoned dingy. Max grows the closest to the monster Carol, who is in fact male and
played by James “Tony Soprano” Gandolfini. Carol shows the new king Max around the
woods, introducing him to a cast of fully imagined characters.
The original story’s purpose was to promote anger management. While this may sound like
something best reserved for a lecture or a story starring talking farm animals, something
about the text’s acceptance of the Wild Things, meaning both Max and the monsters, is
extremely endearing and relatable. The movie extends on this, casting each monster as an
emotional archetype, leaving the viewer feeling as if he knows these monsters (I constantly
had the feeling that I had met a real-life image of each character). For example, Judith is a
female monster, constantly seen with her tagalong boyfriend Ira while seemingly ignoring
everything he does. In one of the more heartfelt scenes, Max yells at Judith for doubting the
“magical powers” he claims to have as king. In response, Judith yells at Max: “You have
to let me yell at you! And you aren’t allowed to yell back!” While, to younger viewers,
Judith’s hurt will be apparent, the more sly commentary on one-sided relationships and
social double standards will be obvious as well as heartbreaking. This becomes more surreal
as Max begins to comment on things above his age, such as playing “War” with the Wild
Things by encouraging them to throw dirt clods at each other, causing them all to fight and
become angry with each other. Like many children’s movies of the past few years, namely
the masterpieces delivered from Pixar’s “Up!” and “Wall-E,” the film creates an enjoyable
teaching moment for children while keeping the older crowd engrossed in the reality of the
characters’ relationships and emotions.
Even more endearing is the human cast. Before Max leaves for the land of the Wild Things,
the audience gets a glimpse of his home life: a single mom, an adolescent sister who refuses
to care, and a faraway dad, the only hint to the father’s existence is a globe on Max’s desk,
engraved with “From Dad to Max: You are the owner of this world.” In a precursor to his
adventures with the “Wild Things,” Max starts a snowball fight with some of his sister’s
friends, who, in the excitement, smash an igloo Max built and leave him crying. Max runs
home and breaks a valentine he gave to his sister, immediately feeling regret and telling his
mother. Although Max is only in the “real world” for a short while, the schema is familiar:
his mom has a strange new boyfriend, his sister is surrounded by adoring male fans and his
neighborhood is lower-middle class at best. However, it builds the emotional stage for the
rest of the film, both surrounded in the innocence of childhood and the frustration of living
the life of a social being.
Disney had actually acquired the rights to the story in the 1980’s, hoping to make the film
a mixture of animation and live-action. Losing interest, Disney sold the rights to Universal.
The lack of animation and use of mascot-style costumes in the current version is refreshingly
old-fashioned, making the monsters seem real and tangible. This, however, is also due to
the fantastic voice acting and script. All the voice acting is done by adults, including Forest
Whitaker, Paul Dano and the previously mentioned Gandolfini, but absent of the goofball
accents or coy punch-lines seen in other star-studded children’s movies (here’s to you,
“Robots”). Just as well, Max, portrayed by the awesomely-named and scarily-talented Max
Records, has what many child actors lack: the ability to act like a child.
To put the film to rest, it is a joyful and tearful tribute to the classic book, filled with
memorable scenes and a style all its own. Its mixture of low-budget lighting and scenery,
covered in the 10-fi soundtrack created by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with the
carefully recreated image of the all-too familiar monsters provides an authenticity missing
from many adaptations. While the marketing has gotten a little extreme (the to-be-released
video game and clothing line are unnecessary and silly), it is obvious the film was handled
by those loyal to original work, recognizing the message it sends while adding their own
plotlines without forcing them in. Let the wild rumpus begin.
THE CAPITAL TIMES
‘Lying’ is funny, smart
D There is a world where no one can tell a lie. Life is simple
Staff Writer 311(1 b° nn g- No one questions how the world works. One s
GTKsoo2@psu.edu status is based on appearance and salary. Religion is
unknown. Human frankness and shallowness creates hilarity.
This is the world you’ll find in the new comedy “The Invention of Lying,” starring Ricky
Gervais and Jennifer Gamer.
The plot is relatively simple. Mark Bellison (Gervais) is a failing screenwriter who
gets fired for failing to turn the black plague into an interesting film treatment. There’s
no such thing as fiction. All movies come from historical events and Mark gets stuck
working with the uninteresting 13th century. He visits his mother living in “A Sad Place
Where Old People Come to Die.” He goes on a blind date with Anna (Gamer) who
bluntly tells him that he’s short, fat and unsuitable as a mate due to his bad genetics.
Then the unthinkable happens. Mark goes into his bank and says he has $BOO in his
account instead of the $3OO he really has. The teller informs him that the computer
says he only has $3OO in his account. She hands him eight one hundred dollar bills and
apologizes for the error. Mark has told the world’s first lie.
Mark is stunned. He can’t believe what happened. He can’t even describe it because
there’s no word for “lie.” At first his lies are trivial: telling a woman she must have sex
with him or the world will end and telling his friends he invented the bicycle. “I love
your work,” responds a homeless man taking his word for gospel truth.
As the movie progresses so do the implications of the lies. The most poignant scene in
the film takes place between Mark and his dying mother. She is scared to death knowing
the end is near and that her body will lay lifeless in the ground for eternity. To ease her
pain Mark tells her that death is not the end, that when she dies everyone gets a mansion
in the sky and everyone she ever loved will be there with her.
“Say hi to dad for me,” says Mark through tears. Watch this scene and try to tell yourself
that what Mark did is wrong. Word of what he told his mother becomes international
news. A makeshift question and answer session is held in his front yard. Mark is forced to
deserves credit for making Anna a character we root for. She at first comes across as
shallow, wanting only a husband with flawless looks and great genes. Eventually she
learns how to enjoy life with those who make her happy, no matter what they look like.
There are also small roles played wonderfully by Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Edward Norton
and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
“The Invention of Lying” is a comedy that isn’t afraid to ask you to use your brain. It
will make you laugh and may even challenge your beliefs. It’s not the kind of film that
screams for attention or begs for your approval. It’s the kind of movie that quietly earns
your respect.
October 21, 2009
expand on his story of life after
death, basically creating religion
as he talks. The scene is both
controversial and hilarious.
“The Invention of Lying” is both
a simple and complex film full of
laugh out loud lines and heartfelt
moments. The romance between
Mark and Anna progresses
from impossible to predictable.
The fact that we know what is
coming doesn’t take away from
the journey, however. Mark is
able to advance his career and
salary through lying but not
once does he lie to win Anna’s
heart. Lying is at the heart of the
film, but honesty wins out in the
end.
Gervais is best known for
his role as David Brent on the
British version of “The Office”
and the movie has no shortages
of awkwardly funny moments
that made that show so famous.
He plays Mark not as a lovable
loser but as a man down on his
luck who wants nothing more
than for Anna to see past his
looks and into his soul. Gamer