The Mitchells vs. The Machines

I had two surprises this weekend. One was the late Chadwick Boseman losing out on the "Best Actor" Oscar to Sir Anthony Hopkins, which is one of the biggest upsets in my time watching the overlong Oscars. The other surprise was watching "The Mitchells vs. The Machines" on Netflix.

Now full disclosure, I am a HUGE fan of Lord and Miller's films, specifically "21 Jump Street", the first "Lego Movie" and of course "Into the Spiderverse". I love the energy of their films and how they always seem to double down on making them as manic and visually appealing as possible. "The Mitchells" doesn't change their formula much and while I would prefer to spend my time watching non-white centric movies these days, I couldn't help but be charmed and impressed by this feature that was co-written and directed by Mike Rianda in his first feature film.

The movie follows a family that is struggling to deal with the oldest child, Katie (played with real emotion by Abbi Jacobson from "Broad City") getting ready to go to film school far, far away from home. This yearning to break away from her family is driven by Katie's impression that her father Rick (Danny McBride) just doesn't get her creativity and in turn made her feel alienated from him. We later learn more about how miscommunication created this gap between father and daughter who were so close in Katie's early years. Things immediately ramp up when a phone application named PAL takes over society and uses its company's new robots to imprison all humans. The Mitchells constantly elude the robots, leading to a hilarious sequence in an abandoned mall and providing jokes and gags that are reminiscent of the 90's seasons of "The Simpsons". This was one of several moments that showcased both the talents of the animation team at Sony pictures and it's cast with Maya Rudolph and Olivia Coleman each having some hilarious moments.

To say I loved this movie would be an understatement. As far as animated films, this is immediately at the top of the list this year. The film never drags, the animation is stellar and the story does a great job commenting on our obsession with technology and how it has hindered our ability to effectively communicate with one another. The entire cast is hilarious with McBride particularly being a stand-out with his ability to be both lacking self-awareness but sincere in his love for his family. Rick's struggles with technology made me double over in laughter several times. This was a great time from beginning to end that I wish I had kept on deck for AFTER the Chadwick loss to lighten my mood. Plus side is I can revisit this anytime I want thanks to Netflix. And I definitely will!

X-Large

-Brandon Collins