Underrated Movies #2: Eagle vs Shark
A Quirky Comedy from New Zealand
Eagle vs Shark is an offbeat romantic comedy by New Zealand director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Jojo Rabbit). Loren Taylor plays Lily, a shy and lonely woman who lives with her brother and works at a fast food restaurant in Wellington. She develops a crush on Jarrod (Jemaine Clement), a dorky guy who works at a video game shop. Although he is not interested in her at first, Lily’s gaming prowess, as displayed at a costume party he hosts, draws him to her. And, when she unfairly loses her job, Lily goes with him back to his hometown so that he can get revenge on the person who bullied him at school.
At Jarrod’s childhood home Lily meets his eccentric family, and it soon becomes evident that every character in the film is a bit weird. In fact, Waititi appears to have created a film in which everyone is vying for the title of biggest crackpot. Overall, the wackiness is enjoyable, although it would perhaps grow tiresome in a longer film. In every conversation that takes place you are prepared for an odd remark to be uttered, and when it is, you accept it as somehow normal in a world where a wheelchair-bound man is capable of standing up and walking without neither difficulty nor any questions being asked. There are occasionally serious moments, particularly when Jarrod’s deceased brother is mentioned, but these do not carry much weight due to the ludicrousness of much of the story.
The more time Lily spends with Jarrod, the more apparent his self-absorption becomes. He claims that he has depression, but he often uses it as a way of justifying his frequent self-centredness. I have read many unfavourable opinions on this character, and it must be said that being a big fan of Flight of the Conchords, the show in which Jemaine Clement portrays someone with a similarly dry sense of humour, helped me enjoy his performance as Jarrod despite this character’s many flaws. Lily is easier to get behind because she is so kind and sincere, and her growing conviction throughout the film represents a satisfying piece of character development.
If you’re looking for a movie with lots of laugh-out-loud moments then this might not be for you. That is not to say that there aren’t plenty of funny scenes; there are, but the humour deployed is akin to other projects involving Waititi and Clement such as Conchords and Shadows, in which the peculiarities and dry deliveries of characters won’t be to everyone’s taste. Nevertheless, fans of these projects will feel right at home watching this sweet little film and will be left with a feeling of lightness that will peacefully wear off like the memory of a pleasantly bizarre dream.
My Rating: 3½/5
