Monster House Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)July 16th, 2006
MONSTER HOUSE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Parents generally refuse to admit it, but kids of all ages love scary movies, especially if they are as hilarious and good-spirited as MONSTER HOUSE, an animated movie that appeals to kids and adults alike. If the Academy is smart, it should seriously consider awarding the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar to MONSTER HOUSE, which is way, way better than CARS.
Although this is a picture that never pulls its punches, it is rated PG, which surprised me. As I was watching it, it sure felt like it must have been rated PG-13, given the irreverence of its humor and the intensity of the frights.
Sitting in a packed audience with children and adults of every age imaginable, I was quite surprised to find that only one thing upset them. So what was it? An old guy dying of a heart attack and crushing the lead boy after falling on top of him? Nope. A killer house that ate everything from tricycles to policemen? Not at all. The only thing to get an audible and negative rise from our audience was a teenage boy who pulled a little stuffing out of a stuffed bunny, acting like he was hurting it. Our audience was aghast at that diabolical act! Everything else they took in stride.
The very voracious and vicious house, which has windows for eyes, jagged boards for teeth and a long oriental rug for a tongue, is inhabited by a scrawny guy named Nebbercracker (voiced by Steve Buscemi). Nebbercracker, who looks like an old age version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS' Gollum, has a dead beached whale of a wife named Constance (voiced by Kathleen Turner). Once the fat lady in a circus freak sideshow, she is seen in flashbacks.
The movie's fabulous animation has an inviting and appealing 3D appearance, which is a joy to behold. And, best of all, the movie's script is completely up to the task, with the same sharply written lines found in films such as SHREK.
Mitchel Musso is terrific as the voice of DJ, a kid just old enough to think he's become too old for trick-or-treating. Sam Lerner voices Chowder, DJ's pudgy buddy. The two of them are smitten by Jenny (voiced by Spencer Locke), a candy selling scamster who is the two-time president of her prep school. She is a red-haired beauty who wears her hair in pigtails. Zee (voiced by Maggie Gyllenhaal), DJ's heavy metal loving babysitter, offers simple advice on life to Jenny: "When a guy with tattoos comes up to you at the drive-in window, give him his burger and not your phone number." As Zee's stoner boyfriend, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE's Jon Heder voices Skull. Skull, as you can probably guess, is the one who commits the story's most heinous act, the aforementioned stuffed bunny pulling.
As the house becomes more and more of a killing machine, DJ, Chowder and Jenny spring into action with some pretty imaginative and daring solutions to stop it. Adults, of course, don't have a clue as to what is happening right there in their own neighborhood. Jenny, with her preppy blazer and supreme overconfidence, wouldn't usually give guys like DJ and Chowder the time of day. "Normally, I don't spend time with guys like you," she tells them, "but a house just tried to eat me, so ..." The film is filled with lots of big laughs and is as sweet as can be.
The last act nicely wraps everything up in a way that is touching, rousing and satisfying. MONSTER HOUSE is such a charmer that it's worth multiple viewings.
MONSTER HOUSE runs a fast 1:30. It is rated PG for "scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language" and would be acceptable for all ages, although most parents of little ones probably won't believe it.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, July 21, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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