Nadine Truong – 2017 - USA
A
perfect example of when only one participant in a film is so completely
superior to the junk around him that it’s painful to watch. Mike Faist, a star
in the making, somehow pulls off the most pitiful dialogue, getting no help
from his co-stars or director, and is convincing and charming throughout. The movie
is a paint-by-numbers feel-good would-be inspirational story of a boy injured
by a car who embraces taekwondo as part of his recovery, and – as we know from The
Karate Kid and dozens of similar movies, martial arts is really about
developing personal character, not just learning how to beat people up. The
theme is painted huge right on the wall and yet we still needed the scene where
the wise old sensei puts it in plain English for all the dingbats out there. The
“romance” between the two leads is supposed to be cute, but it’s reprehensible
and tone-deaf. The girl with a crush on Mike Faist proceeds to shove her way
into his life with her phony, plastered-on kooky routine, tampers with his
food, and gets her grandfather to harass the poor guy too. And then, when he
finally caves in and becomes her boyfriend, she immediately starts judging and
shaming him, using emotional blackmail to guilt-trip him into doing whatever she wants. It’s an absolute nightmare portrayal of a relationship, and
yet the film acknowledges none of this, like it’s normal and like Mike Faist is
lucky to have this horrible person in his life. If I’m making too much of this
story detail, it’s the film’s fault. If it was good or had anything interesting
to offer, I wouldn’t have been so easily distracted.
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