MATT RAUB: The Last Mimzy

Greetings, movie geeks! Last we spoke, you were all on the receiving end of my 300 bash, and after a handful of death threats from the “Frank Miller is God Fan Club,” I’ve digressed. We’re moving on this week to a flick that I can relate to, in Robert Shaye’s The Last Mimzy.

Now for those of you who aren’t in the know on this latest adolescent epic, the premise is that a brother and sister come across a mysterious box on the beach. It’s explained to us that the box is from the future and is filled with all kinds of equally mysterious sci-fi gadgets, or as the kids so affectionately called them “toys.” Once they start to play with these toys, both the boy and girl begin to gain special powers. Now fans of the USA show The 4400 may be saying “hey, this sounds a little familiar.” And I agree with you. The concept of the future sending technology back in time to save the human existence does sound a bit familiar, but this is done entirely through the perspective of the two kids.

By doing the entire film through the point of view of our two tiny heroes, this flick brought me back to what it was like to be a geeky kid with superpowers given to me from the future… or something. The perspective stayed so far on course that we (the audience) begin to hate the parents of the main characters when they become frightened and angry with these new found “toys” and what they are doing to their children. This can best be described by remembering the point of view from a little movie from the 80s called E.T. Much like that film, we all felt like we were keeping the secret from kids’ parents as much as they were, and that was exciting.

Now on the subject of name value, I wouldn’t call this film a “star-studded event,” but it did have some gems. On the side of acting, the film stars the very green Chris O’Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn as the two lovable-yet-incredibly-creepy main characters, as well as Timothy Hutton and Michael Clarke Duncan. But the one name that the film makes sure to push in just about every TV spot is The Office’s Rainn Wilson. Wilson seems to be a rising star in Hollywood, and all I have to say is IT’S ABOUT TIME!

I have been a huge fan of Wilson’s work on The Office, and I think I may have been one of the 6 people to ever see last summers My Super Ex-Girlfriend, in which he also played a supporting role. So for him to play the “nerdy science teacher” in this film, it’s as if the role was meant for him. Finally, taking the chair as director of this fun flick is horror master Robert Shaye.

Some of you may be saying “Whoa, someone dubbed ‘horror master’ is directing a kids’ movie? Not Possible.” But you had better believe it, bub. Robert Shaye is best known for producing all of the Nightmare on Elm Streets including the last chapter, Freddy Vs. Jason. But as his 4th stint as director, Shaye managed to get a tough-skinned skeptic like myself to buy into every minute of this sci-fi journey.

Overall it could be the fact that I enjoy fun kid movies or just the fact that I’ve been looking for a movie to love lately (seeing as how the past dozen movies I’ve seen I have truly detested), but deep down I really enjoyed this flick. This film has the potential to become the next E.T. or Neverending Story of its time, even down to the corny “Scooby Doo” type ending where everything works out and flowers bloom to a happy, upbeat score.

I give The Last Mimzy a 8/10 on the Mattometer (patent pending). Definitely a flick to catch if you’re looking for something to do with a son/daughter/nephew/child hostage.

Matt Raub’s other review of this movie can be heard on the current ComicMix Podcast. Matt’s reviews are regular features on both CM venues.