Open Season (Year)

Plot of Open Season

A grizzly bear named Boog (Martin Lawrence), domesticated by a park ranger, Beth (Debra Messing), helps deer friend Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) escape from the mullet-sporting hunter, Shaw (Gary Sinise). When the animals escape to the forest the pair become lost just as hunting season begins, made worse by the fact Boog doesn't know how to survive outside of his beloved ranch. Elliott and Boog develop a strong bond not only between themselves but also with the wild animals and attempt to drive the hunters out of the forest.

Review of Open Season

There are a few reasons why I chose this movie to review.

A. I had to try out my new press credentials on something.

B. It was free.

C. It's freakin' IMAX 3D! (Which I have never seen before)

It seems that kid's movies these days must walk a fine line between being too grown-up for the kids and too silly for the parents. With bear puke and deer poop (yes I said poop), Open Season walks that line fairly well with some references for the adults, a lot of fun for the kids, and a tad of gross out humor for everyone. If you don't find the main characters of Boog and Elliot to your liking, I'll bet you can find a favorite character in the supporting cast. My favorite is the little blue porcupine who doesn't even get a name.

Two actors that I usually can't stand are the leads in this film, Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher. Lawrence does a phenomenal job as Boog and Kutcher was slightly less annoying than he was on That 70's show. Gary Sinise was almost unrecognizable as the air guitar playing, red neck hunter Shaw. Supporting voices  Jon Favreau, Billy Connolly, Patrick Warburton and Jane Krakowski helped to endear this above average family film to me. It's no Toy Story but it is better than some of the more recent family films.

The animation was great, the colors jumped out and I found that the attention to detail was terrific. Some examples are Beth's hair and Boogs fur. I also caught myself staring at the dirt on Shaw's chin a few times. And if you get a chance to see it in IMAX, go for it. You won't be disappointed. I had never seen an IMAX 3D film before and let me tell you, it knocks the socks of the old red and blue glasses.

Now every movie has some problems and this one has a few. Elliot looks a lot like Donkey from Shrek, in one scene a kid even calls him a donkey. The human character designs didn't fit with the animal designs, they looked like they were straight out of the Clerks animated TV show. And of course, the predictable feel good family ending. At least there was copious amounts of applause as the credits rolled so it had to be a pretty good movie, right?

Bottom line, an enjoyable film made even better by seeing it in IMAX 3D.

Until we use rabbit fights to end all wars,

keep reading.

Mitch Emerson

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This review was written by Mitch E. Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved.