Horsley Soars in Otherwise Uneven Eagle

Lilly (Loren Horsley) is an eccentric and lonely misfit working at a fast food restaurant in New Zealand. She’s about given up on the prospect of ever falling in love, none of the guys she comes in contact with willing to take a chance on such a weirdly loony oddball who also just happens to be a close hopeless romantic.

But maybe all isn’t lost after all. Meeting equally lonely misfit Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) dressed up as an anemic shark while he’s coifed as a fluffy-headed eagle (the two are at a “come as your favorite animal” party), the twosome immediately hit it off. But this local video store clerk with his own view of reality isn’t interested in a relationship right now. He’s been plotting for ten years to get revenge on a local bully, spending so much time “training” for his big day of recompense he almost doesn’t notice the good thing suddenly standing in front of him.

Eagle vs Shark isn’t exactly going to break any new ground in the oddball comedy hall of fame. Written and directed by Taika Waititi, comparisons to Napoleon Dynamite aren’t exactly all that far from the mark. But, to the film’s credit the filmmaker does aim deeper than this, his picture a weirdly absurd romantic comedy that’s far more heartwarming and tender than I’d ever expected possible.

That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. I wasn’t a big fan of Jarrod, his demeanor more than a tad off-putting and obnoxious. In fact, for the majority of the movie I was more than ready to see him get pummeled by the Samoan bully (David Fane) he’s been obsessing about for a decade. The man’s sister Nancy (Rachel House) and brother-in-law Doug (Craig Hall) also got high on my nerved, the duo as shrill a couple as any I’ve seen in a movie in quite some time.

Then there is Horsley. Waititi’s partner and the inspiration for the picture, she is a true marvel. I adored the actress in this, her Lilly a total original I couldn’t wait to see more of. I never tired of her and didn’t once come to think of her as an annoyance. The woman is downright wonderful, and with her being in almost every scene the film manages to maintain a whimsical momentum in spite of all the sequences and characters that don’t work near as well as hers does.

What finally makes Eagle vs Shark worthwhile, however, is just how funny and romantic it really ends up being. After about an hour I discovered I really did want to see Lilly and Jarrod get together, see them find some semblance of happiness as a couple. Their journey getting there might be silly and it sure as heck isn’t your typical Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks Hollywood romance but it is entertaining, and considering how few comedies can say just that this is a gift I’m loathe to tell people to miss out on. (A special salute must also be given to New Zealand band The Phoenix Project, their fantastic score a true treasure worthy of celebration.)

But that doesn’t make the film worthwhile for everyone. Waititi has his own idiosyncratic style (which includes throwing in some of the looniest animated sequences I've ever seen) that some will adore while others might get up from their seat in order to run out of theater screaming. Mostly thanks to Horsley, I find that I actually kind of dug the thing, and while Eagle vs Shark doesn’t soar to the atmosphere it doesn’t sink to the bottom of the ocean like a piece of deadweight, either.

 Film Rating:  êê1/2  (out of 4)

(Click here for an interview with writer/director Taika Waititi)