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THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN – The Review – We Are Movie Geeks

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THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN – The Review

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In creating his entertainment empire, Walt Disney knew that his company needed to branch out beyond animation. Those hand-drawn classics took a long time to craft, so he first produced adventure flicks out of England before his take on Jules Verne, 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, which was a box office sensation in 1954. Establishing a live-action division, Walt released several family flicks over the next few decades ranging from adventures like SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON to the kids comedies featuring Herbie, the Love Bug and The Apple Dumpling Gang. Oops, almost forgot the tear-jerkers, those warm family flicks like FOLLOW ME BOYS and ( gulp! ) OLD YELLER ( I recall a stand-up comic saying that the flick was a test that parents could give their kids-if the kid cried at the end of YELLER, then he was normal ). Many of the movies would be chopped up and turned into multiple episodes of that Sunday night TV staple, ” Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color ” ( ah, TOBY TYLER ! ). In the last few decades Disney Studios have created brands such as Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures to release their more adult fare. But every once in a while a live action film while get the Walt Disney Pictures imprint ( like THE ROCKETEER ). Such is the case with the gentle family fantasy, THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN. I can imagine it playing over a couple of Sundays on ” The Wonderful World of Disney” ( its last prime-time broadcast network incarnation ). So instead of gathering around the set, will families gather at the multiplex for this timeless tale?

In the openiong scenes, Jim and Cindy Green ( Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner ) get some bad news from a fertility specialist. They drive back to their picture-perfect town of Stanleyville USA, ” the pencil capital of the world ” ( probably right down the road from Bedford Falls ). Jim works quality control at the pencil factory while Cindy’s a tour guide at the Stanley Pencil Museum. That night, after many tears ( and a bottle of wine ) the two exchange ideas about what would make a perfect child ( ” He rocks!”  “He has a good heart”, etc. ). Jim jots them down in a small notebook, tears out the sheets, stuffs them in a small wood box, and buries it in the backyard garden. Later that night an intense storm wakes the couple. What’s that noise? Something’s scurrying through the house. Jim and Cindy discover the source : a ten year-old boy, covered in mud. And, around his ankles and feet, he’s sprouting bright green leaves. Jim dashes to the garden to check his recent planting. The hole’s been dug up and the wooden box is shattered. Have their dreams been fulfilled? What will become of this lad that sprung up from the soil?

The rest of the film pretty much concerns Timothy ( CJ Adams ) brightening the lives of friends and family in the town. The script doesn’t tackle any intense questions from others about the boy’s arrival ( kind of like the Kents and their foundling in Smallville, Kansas ) or the miracle itself ( must be the same generous movie gods that turned Henry Limpet into a fish ). Most of the supporting characters are standard kid lit types. Dianne Wiest  has little to do as the up-tight, hard-nosed curator of the museum ( her Timothy encounter seems a bit forced ). Her nephew, Jim’s factory boss ( Ron Livingston ) is a bullying weasel ( weird to see Mr. OFFICE SPACE in management ). M. Emmet Walsh and Lois Smith are jolly, nurturing grandparent types ( actually the aunt and uncle that raised Cindy ). The true grandpa’ here is the distant, surly father of Jim, ” Big ” Jim ( David Morse ) who becomes Jim’s sounding board for his ‘ good parenting’ raps. Rosemarie Dewitt ( fabulous in HER SISTER’S SISTER ) is wasted as Cindy’s condescending, over-achieving sister.  Common clocks in as a stern soccer coach of the Erasers. He’s tough and unbelievably tolerant of the hovering Greens. Timothy’s main pal is Joni ( Odeya Rush ), a scowling pre-teen who warms to the new kid. There’s some confusion about their relationship. Are they buddies or steadies? It’s left hovering ( she towers over him, seeming a bit too mature for the hero ). As for the Greens themselves, I was thankful that Adams made Timothy an engaging, pleasant protagonist. With the wrong actor this could’ve been a very difficult slog ( several recent films had young actors at their center that, to put it delicately, wore out their welcome quickly ). Edgerton, so great in last year’s WARRIOR, makes for a nice, gentle, encouraging sitcom dad. Garner bounces back nicely from the harpy she played in the remake of ARTHUR. Like one of the notes in the box ( ” He should be funny, but not making fun of others funny. Or belch and fart funny” ), the movie has a gentle whimsical air. Most of the set pieces will elicit a couple chuckles ( a music scene is cringe-worthy though ). This film is the  happy flip side of last year’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. Here parenting is a constant joy, even when things don’t quite work out as you hoped. An economic subplot about saving the factory is far too simplistic, but this is one flick that’s going for your heart instead of your brain. And some of the time it hits the target.

Overall Rating: 3 Out of 5 stars

Jim Batts was a contestant on the movie edition of TV's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in 2009 and has been a member of the St. Louis Film Critics organization since 2013.