Jemaine Clement

Eagle vs Shark Review

Thanks to Jenni and Deirdre. Go read about the movie and test screening..

Awhile back whilst trolling the internet I found a really well written review of “Eagle Vs. Shark”, I sent the link around to a couple of people but that was it. My good friend Deirdre asked about it recently and of course the review was gone..not one to leave things like this, Deirdre contacted “Jenni” and asked her about the review..she was nice enough to re-write the review and let us post it. So much Thanks to Jenni for allowing us to put this up. And Much Love and Thanks to Deirdre for not letting anything stand in her way..just call her Superfan D!

EAGLE VS SHARK
2006
Director: Taika Cohen
with Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley

At the end of July, I attended a Miramax test screening of the film, Eagle vs Shark. I was at the time, completely unfamiliar with both the film’s director, Taika Cohen, and the film’s stars Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley. I was given both the title, which I mocked mercilessly prior to the screening, and a brief synopsis: “Eagle vs Shark is the tale of two socially awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love; through revenge on high-school bullies, burgers, and video games.” Nothing about the title or the synopsis intrigued me, and to make matter worse, I was completely convinced that the movie was titled Eagle vs. Snake, so I was prepared on some level to view a story that delved into the symbolism of the Mexican flag. Really, it just all sounded to darn precious to be any damn good. Imagine my surprise then, when I found myself in the focus group following the screening doggedly defending the movie.

Most who disliked the movie felt it was way too derivative of a
handful of small pictures that have achieved great mainstream success over the last few years. Indeed, many felt that the sole purpose of the movie was to cash in on what they perceived to be a thriving quirky cinema market. One woman went so far as to say, “Like, um, if Me and You and Everyone We Know had a baby with Napoleon Dynamite, it would be this movie.” I would like to think the director was well aware that such comparisons might be drawn, and he spat on the ground and said, “Fuck it, I like this movie, scratch that, I love this movie, and I’m going to risk it.” And that is the feel of the movie. It feels warm and sincere, but at the same time one is slightly aware that even the slightest misstep could sink the story, so fragile and basic is its premise. The risk pays off, and the movie never once careens off course.

The acting is very strong, with Jemaine Clement filling the role of awkward and self-important social retard with such ease and humanity that it is hard to legitimately compare his character Jarrod with Jon Heder’s well-crafted caricature, Napoleon. I do believe that the character of Napoleon, love him or hate him, forever changed the
mainstream face of the social misfit/geek stock character or
stereotype (gone finally are the days of the taped up glasses and
pocket protector), but it is in the character of Jarrod that we really
start to see the genuine article. And it makes you squirm because,
damn, you know that guy. In my particular case that guy asked me to prom. Twice. Anyway, even if one is not entirely sold on Clement’s performance, all would be hard pressed to find flaws in Loren Horsley’s performance. Not since Angela Bettis’s inspired turn as the title character in the film May, have I seen a better or more complex
representation of the female social misfit/geek. Horsley’s portrayal
of chronic loser, Lily, is incredibly complete. Her performance is so
subtle and believable, that I found myself connecting with her, and
leaning forward in my seat as I might during a gripping live
performance.

There are even some cleverly cloying bits of stop motion animation that put me more in the mind set of Savage Steve Holland’s Better Off Dead, then any of the indie darlings that the other folks in the focus group kept referencing. It is just a very well put together film, and I did my damnedest during the focus group to voice my enjoyment of it in hopes that this one will not end up simply collecting dust on shelf at Miramax. I do not actually believe in this mythic thriving quirky cinema market that other focus group members told tale of, and it seems the fate of this film’s future here in the states is hardly set in stone. Fortunately, there still seems to be some buzz about Cohen’s Oscar nod in 2005 for the short film, “Two Cars, One Night,” and his Sundance screened honorable mention short Tama Tu, and even a little buzz for Eagle vs Shark itself which was reportedly workshopped at the snooty Sundance Directors/Screenwriters Labs. I’ll resist the urge to
call Cohen a pure bread puppy, and instead reaffirm that he really did his job well in the case of Eagle vs. Shark, and I hope to see it’s
release in the near future.