'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' review

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (Credit: Sony Animation)

Photos:

Based on Judi and Ron Barrett's imagination-capturing kids' book: When wacky inventor Flint (voiced by Bill Hader) figures out how to make it rain different types of food, his small town gets wrapped up in the phenomenon—except Flint's dad (James Caan), who just wants his son to join him in his bait and tackle shop. As pizza, ice cream and more falls from the sky and Flint flirts with local weather reporter Sam Sparks (Anna Faris), will big appetites lead to big disaster?

The buzz: It would be pretty awesome—and a demanding clean-up job—if this really happened, and the sky has done strange things before. (Not burgers-falling-from-the-sky-strange, but you get the idea.) Hopefully the movie (shown in 3-D in certain theaters) can capture adults' inner-child—while amusing actual kids.

The verdict: Silly and surprisingly funny, "Meatballs" is light on its feet and quick-witted, with a bonus self-awareness that most family flicks confuse with irony. The celeb voices also come from the right celebs (including Bruce Campbell and Mr. T), disappearing into their characters instead of sounding like bored versions of themselves (as in "9"). It would have been nice to see writers-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller confront more impact behind edible weather (What happens to the restaurant industry? How do you water a crop of tomatoes with fudge?). Still, this tale of gluttony is coated in pancake syrup, twisted by a spaghetti tornado and elevated into something like a Wonka daydream.

Did you know? Flint and Sam share a sweet moment inside a giant Jell-O mold. Think the typical Katherine Heigl-anchored romantic comedy could pull that off?

Add a comment