Tampa Film Fan

film fan finding:eagle vs. shark

“Yeah, there’s the bad, but in between there are bits of good, too.”

This line, stated matter-of-factly by Lily (Loren Horsley), one of the lead characters, sums up my feelings about Eagle Vs. Shark. This New Zealand film tells the quiet, quirky love story of Lily, the mousy fast food employee with slumped shoulders and a winning smile, and Jarrod (Jermaine Clement), the videogame enthusiast/computer store employee who Lily admires from afar. Lily starts up a conversation with Jarrod at his store and gets invited to his unusual “dress as your favorite animal” costume party (that’s where the movie’s title comes from). Lily and Jarrod fall for each other, but Jarrod is busy planning revenge on a childhood bully. When he and Lily travel to his hometown to visit his family for a week, Jarrod spurns her to pursue his vendetta, leaving the lonely Lily to make her own way among his oddball family and friends.

Eagle Vs. Shark has a few funny and moving bits, but you have to sit through a lot of awkwardness and anxiety to get there. Loren Horsley is wonderful in the movie and makes Lily sympathetic and likeable. The character of Jerrod, however, is neither sympathetic nor likeable. He’s a selfish, mean jerk who doesn’t deserve Lily. I wanted to see Lily grow and blossom on her own instead of throwing herself at the uncaring Jerrod. The other main annoyance was the animated sequences scattered throughout the film. Perhaps the animation was supposed to be whimsical and light-hearted, but it was distracting and jarring.

Eagle Vs. Shark is like a slower, less funny mash-up of Napoleon Dynamite and Muriel’s Wedding.

Film Fan Finding: B