Jared_Andrews
'Brigsby Bear' is a dark story told with a light touch. Though much of the material covered is upsetting, it never does more than dip a toe into these waters. A handful of dark jokes are delivered with an "aww shucks" charm that seems bashful about presenting anything too deep. It's more comfortable frolicking with the amusing awkward humor and writing a love letter to quirky creativity. Without spoiling anything, the plot is a bit difficult to outline. A young man named James (Kyle Mooney) has lived a life of isolation. He knows very little about social cues, popular culture and virtually all common knowledge. One thing he knows everything about is his favorite show (and the only show he has ever seen), Brigsby Bear. What James doesn't realize is that the show was made only for him, to teach him lessons and to manipulate him. No one else has ever seen it. When it abruptly ends, James wants to make a movie and give his beloved characters the ending they deserve.James's adaption into a world unfamiliar to him makes for a messy situation, especially for his family. No one knows how to handle it. They all want what is best for James, but none of them are sure what that is. His family tries to impose their interests onto James instead of taking an interest in what he likes. His new friends understand him better, or at least, they make a better effort to do so. Through these interactions, we see how special James is and how he doesn't need to change just so he can fit in with everyone else. There's a heartfelt message here about acceptance and pursuing passions, even if not everyone understands them.At times, the story features extremely dark jokes, pushing boundaries. It takes a tremendously upsetting situation and inserts jokes that create such a paradox that my body physically struggled to laugh. I'm not sure what that means. It seems like an indication that the combination didn't quite work. The joke didn't quite land, and the heavy material is left only partially explored. The film struggles with nuance in the more challenging moments. It's a little hesitant or reluctant to dig deep and make the circumstances hard on the characters. It softens the edges and makes things too easy and too light and too dumbed down. Certain bits of dialogue spell out too much, as if the filmmakers weren't sure enough of their visual storytelling to leave certain elements unsaid.The story arcs felt a bit underwritten and unearned. A moment of growth in a character simply happens because it's supposed to-we're not shown sufficient reason for it to occur. Despite the flaws, this is a charming film. I only point out the imperfections because I see great potential. This could have been a classic. Instead, it's merely a likable and unique comedy that will surely have its supporters (I'm one of them). Perhaps Kyle Mooney's next film will ascend to the level of a classic.
danielcooperclark
The initial releases - theater and home combined - grossed about $700,000 worldwide. The producers aren't telling what the budget was. Who knows if the revenue covered the production cost. But it sure didn't come close to the $5 million Sony pitched in to distribute it. Maybe they're hoping that over time it'll become a cult classic online. I hope so too. The film deserves success. It's a spirited paean of praise to the transformative power of art and imagination. Of course the "plausibles," as Hitchcock called them, don't warm up to it. But for those willing to be carried along by a vibrant and positive vision, told with a quiet sense of humor, Brigsby Bear hits all the right notes.
evanston_dad
I soooo wanted to like "Brigsby Bear." I saw it after coming off a string of depressing, bleak movies about people being nasty and mean to one another, and a film with a big heart full of decent characters all wanting to just do the right thing was appealing. But the screenplay for this movie is just lousy, and the film overall simply does not work because of it.I think the film is meant to strike a satirical tone, kind of a "Napoleon Dynamite" vibe, but it's not confident enough in itself to do it well. It makes a joke out of a dark premise (a child is abducted as a baby and raised by his kidnappers until he's reunited with his birth parents a good 25 years later), which could work under the right circumstances. But it so doggedly avoids dealing with any of the emotional or even just procedural collateral that would come with such a story in its interest to make everything happen easily and neatly. It's like a college student wrote a term paper about a subject he knows nothing about and didn't feel like researching.Greg Kinnear and Mark Hammill are the most recognizable faces that show up in this one. I would add Jane Adams to the list, but she's in a teensy-tiny part of the movie at the very beginning and is never seen again. I know she's not necessarily a major star, but she's a recognizable enough actress that one wonders if there are additional scenes of her that were left on the cutting room floor.Grade: C+
Sam Panico
James Pope never left home, content to live with his parents. His only concern in the world is his obsession with a children's television program titled Brigsby Bear Adventures, writing detailed recaps of the show and debating each episode online with other fans. But what if the world he lives in isn't reality?James (Kyle Mooney, SNL) has spent his life underground with his parents, Ted and April Mitchum (Mark Hamill and Jane Adams). Forced to stay underground because the rest of the world has been contaminated by radiation, James fills his days with Brigsby Bear, always wearing a shirt from the show, collecting merchandise and watching every episode, which he has on VHS tape. This may hit a little close to home.As he dons a gas mask and sneaks out to the roof to watch the desert, James sees police cars approaching his home. He, Ted and April are taken away. He meets Detective Vogel (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine), who tells him that what he has come to accept as reality is untrue. He has a real set of parents and a sister. And even more shocking, Brigsby Bear wasn't a real show, but was created by Ted just for him. No one else knows anything about his greatest obsession - even the people he talked to on the internet were his abductors.James needs to learn how to relate to his real parents, Greg and Louise Pope (Matt Walsh, a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade and Michaela Watkins, an SNL cast member from 2008-2009 and The House) and their daughter Aubrey (Ryan Simpkins, Revolutionary Road and The House).You instantly realize that everyone has been living in a different version of reality. For James' real parents, they had spent 25 years looking for him and can't break the behavior patterns that allowed them to mentally survive. And his sister has grown to resent the brother she has never met. But this isn't a cookie cutter movie - she has the capacity to love James and even takes him to a party.You might expect the drinking and drugs in this scene to lead to tragedy, but instead they allow James to open up and discuss Brigsby with a large crowd, including Spencer, who is an aspiring filmmaker. They agree to finish the story of Brisgby Bear.Detective Vogel gives James the show's props and show of his videotapes, which he uploads to YouTube, creating a new audience for the show that only he has seen and building anticipation for his movie. However, James' parents and therapist (Claire Danes) don't approve, thinking that this is holding him back from accepting reality.While filming in the woods, James creates a giant explosion, shocking everyone and drawing the police. He loses all of the costumes and props as the result.One night, determined to tell his story, he leaves in his parent's car and goes to his old home, which now seems just as alien as the world he has re-entered. This reminded me of Room, but not in a bad way. On his way back to his new home, James decides to find Whitney (Kate Lyn Sheil, You're Next), a waitress who played the Smiles sisters on Brigsby. She's the only woman that he's ever loved - sure, it's been through a fake TV show created by his abductive father - but it's love nonetheless. She tells him how badly she felt once she learned what the truth was, as she had been led to believe that the show was created for Canadian public access. As the police arrive to arrest him, he confesses his love for her and asks her to be in his movie.James is institutionalized, where he meets Eric (Andy Samberg), who keeps his spirits up. One night, he decides to run away, but once he gets home to grab clothes, he learns that his family, Spencer and Detective Vogel have been working on finishing his movie. The scene where Aubrey stands up for her brother and shows them how the power of creating a movie has helped him be normal and make friends felt powerful and honest.There's only one thing missing, but only James would know: Brigsby's voice just isn't right. He goes to jail to visit Ted, who offers to explain why he abducted him. But James has already made peace with his "old dad" and just wants his help to finish the film.The film is completed, with Detective Vogel getting to live his dream of being an actor and Whitney getting to escape the diner to act again.On the night of the movie's premiere, James is nervous to the point of nausea, worried that people won't enjoy the culture that had once belonged only to him. Yet when he walks into the theater, he only sees pure joy. His mother and father are crying in happiness, his sister welcomes him with an embrace and when he looks to the stage, he sees Brigsby, who waves goodbye and disappears.The end of this film reduced me to tears. Seriously, I found this whole movie to be near perfect.Brigsby Bear was co-written by Mooney and Kevin Costello, and directed by Dave McCary - three friends who went to high school together and later formed the sketch group Good Neighbor with Beck Bennett and Nick Rutherford (who also appear in the film). So much of the film was based on their years of making videos together, Mooney being a nostalgic introvert and the worries that no one will love what you spent so long creating.They based the videos within the film on the aesthetic of 80's kid's shows, like Prayer Bear. Mooney is a big collector of strange videos, like the stuff that shows up at the amazing Found Footage Festival.This was one of my favorite films this year and would be a perfect way to close out your 2017!
