Infinitely Polar Bear

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide
Directed by: Maya Forbes
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A manic depressive father (Mark Ruffalo) reluctantly takes full responsibility for them while their mother (Zoe Saldana) goes to business school in an attempt to better their lives.

Review:

Tim: I normally dislike when people call a movie "cute", as I don't feel it accurately describes what the movie's like. However, Infinitely Polar Bear feels like a cute movie to me. It's funny, dramatic, emotional, heartwarming, and just an entertaining film. It's not going to set the world on fire, but it is very enjoyable.

Movies about family dysfunction can be tricky. There is a balancing act between showing the turbulence the family deals with, but you don't want to completely depress the audience either. This film walks that line brilliantly. It shows the harsh reality of this family's struggle, but it does so in a hopeful, uplifting way. It doesn't sugar coat the situation, but you always believe it will work out in the end. Throughout this movie, you really get to know this family and grow to care about them deeply. The emotional impact of the film is quite strong. I might not quite have loved this film, but it gets awfully close.

The cast is great. Mark Ruffalo is such a wonderful actor. He shines in these smaller movies. Here, he gets a strong role that requires quite a bit of range. He attacks the part with energy and just shines in it. He's charismatic and connects with the audience with his everyman performance. He's relatable and funny. He gives this warm, enjoyable performance that reminds us he's one of the great actors working today. He's the biggest reason to see this movie. Zoe Saldana is good, too, although she has much less of interest to do. She's the straight man in this relationship. While she doesn't get to showcase her ability to the extent of Ruffalo, she gets a few nice scenes where she ratchets up the emotional output. I do wish she had a little bit more to do, but she's effective with what she has.

One of this film's great strengths is that it is just a funny movie. Too often these comedy/dramas slip so far on the drama side that the "comedy" is just a moment or two of brief levity. This movie is genuinely funny. I was laughing throughout the film. The power of this movie is that it truly makes you laugh while also pulling the heartstrings a bit. This balance isn't easy to pull off, but when a film does (like this one), you know it's going to be good.

Part of the reason for this film's success is that this feels like an authentic, believable story. It's not surprising that the story is based on the director's own family. This feels like a real story, not the typical Hollywood mumbo jumbo. That is a great strength of the film and a big reason why the movie is so enjoyable.

Infinitely Polar Bear may not be quite as memorable as I would have liked, but it offers an entertaining 90 minutes. It'll make more of an emotional connection than most movies, which is why this film is absolutely worth checking out.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Begin Again, The Kids Are Alright, Sympathy for Delicious