Remove ImagesFilm Critique 2
'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'
3-D animation light on plot, heavy on visual delights
September 17, 2009
Three out of five stars
Rated PG/90 min.
I'm starting to get burnt out on all the 3-D movies that have hit theaters this year, but really, I can't complain about cheeseburgers falling from the sky. That spectacle, which occurs early in this CGI children's book adaptation, is one of many scenes where junk food rains down on hundreds of grateful people (warning: may cause repeat visits to the snack bar).
The plot: a brilliant but hopelessly nerdy scientist (voice of Bill Hader) invents a machine that turns water into anything edible, leading candy-colored clouds to drop enormous piles of food on the small town of Chew and Swallow.
The pace is frantic, a lot of the best jokes go by too quickly and I found myself enticed by the story's big gimmick but not caring about any of the characters. However, all of the voice actors do well; the show-stealer is probably the town's overzealous, back-flipping super cop, voiced by a brilliantly cast Mr. T. There's also James Caan, Anna Farris, Neil Patrick Harris and Bruce Campbell but really, you're here to see a giant pancake crush a building.
The 3-D effects are fun and make this worth seeing in that format. Watching it without the glasses would be missing out on the spectacular climax, a cross between Star Wars, Independence Day and The Food Network. Maui Time Weekly