Jojo Rabbit

Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Watiti, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, Stephen Merchant, Archie Yates, Luke Brandon Field
Directed by: Taika Watiti
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: During World War II, a young Nazi boy (Roman Griffin Davis) is stunned to learn his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

Review:

Tim: I'm a big fan of Taika Watiti. I really enjoyed his Hunt for the Wilderpeople and was blown away by his work on the excellent Thor: Ragnarok. So, I was quite excited to see the critically acclaimed Jojo Rabbit, a film that was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. And, it was a good movie. I cringed as I wrote that. I don't know, I went into this expecting to love it and I was slightly ambivalent. Make no mistake, it's a good movie, it's funny. However, it's not nearly enough to be on my top 10 of 2019. This is a good, serviceable film.

The premise is an intriguing one. Our protagonist is a young Nazi boy. I spent a lot of time thinking about this. One of my biggest issues with the film is that I never felt any connection to Jojo. Why was that? Some of it was probably because he's a Nazi sympathizer. I know this is a comedy and it's all played for laughs (while also being very dramatic), but sue me if it's hard for me to care about a Nazi. That's part of it. The other aspect is that I didn't care for the performance of Roman Griffin Davis. Sure, he's good in the role, but it was one of the least effective performances in the film. It was fine, but it wasn't all that good. These two things add up to me not developing an emotional connection with Jojo, which undermines the entire movie. That's really the heart of the issue here for me.

Scarlett Johansson, on the other hand, gives a great performance as Jojo's mother. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She makes an out-sized contribution to the film. Every scene she's in, she makes the movie better. I wish she had more screen time because I'd probably have liked the movie more. She really does a terrific job. Thomasin McKenzie is quite strong as well. She is a bit too reserved in the role, but she displays vulnerability and cunning and is more able to connect with the audience. You have to give Taika Watiti a standing ovation for his role as Jojo's imaginary friend, Hitler. That's the funniest part of the entire movie. Watiti is so zany and ridiculous as Hitler, it's great fun and it's so entertaining. I wish Watiti had more scenes, because he's fantastic in this role.

I have to say, I was far less enthusiastic about the whole Hitler Youth aspect of the film. I love Sam Rockwell, but I wasn't crazy about his character here. Rockwell does a good job and this character's arc is one of the most powerful of the entire movie. It ends wonderfully, but the beginning scenes are too buffoonish without being very funny. Rebel Wilson is even worse. She wasn't very funny and didn't seem to have much of a German accent (it was bad). Her presence was an odd one and the movie didn't need her at all. I was excited to see Alfie Allen, but he had so little to do. Stephen Merchant was a great addition, though- his few scenes were some of the most intense and memorable of the movie.

I love what Watiti was trying to do with this film. It's certainly unique. The film only won 1 Academy Award, for Best Adapted Screenplay, which was written by Watiti. This is deserving because the script was just unlike anything else we've seen before. He makes a good movie about a Nazi boy who has Hitler as an imaginary friends. What are we even talking about right now? That is a big achievement and I was glad he got Oscar gold. However, Jojo Rabbit as a whole isn't quite a great movie. It's good and it's entertaining, but it's a far cry from being anywhere near my favorite films of 2019.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople