Movie Reviews

Review in a Hurry:  It's ET minus the sweeping score and the possibility of fast-food marketing tie-ins, both of which would be out of place in this beautifully crafted, ardently unsentimental story. Don't be afraid of the child stars—they're amazingly un-Fanning.

The Bigger Picture:  Seven-year-old Rhiannon Leigh Wryn is reason enough to see this sci-fi tale. Not since Gertie fell for ET has a little girl been as believable as, well, a little girl. The Last Mimzy wouldn't work if Wryn came off as the third Fanning, precocious and wide-eyed at all the right moments. We believe in her layered attachment to Mimzy, a doll with implausible abilities. Remember Tom Hanks and that volleyball in Castaway? Yeah, we're there again, and it's damn moving.

Here, Emma and Noah Wilder (Wryn and Chris O'Neil) are your typically combatant brother and sister. Emma is the brilliant one; Noah, the underachieving videogame junkie. But their traits are refreshingly understated; we learn right away that, although Noah struggles with academics, he is a moral kid, not some brat.

The two discover a mysterious box on the shore of their beach house. The toys in the box—including Mimzy—are magical, and the kids know that they must hide the booty from their parents (Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton). Of course, Mom, Dad, the science teacher Larry (Rainn Wilson) and his spiritual fiancée (emotionally agile Kathryn Hahn) catch on—and drama ensues.

You will get your car chases and your evil, cynical government business. But Mimzy didn't need all that. It's at its best when it's a story about the human desire to be special.

Wilson, in particular, is fun to watch, reminiscent of Richard Dreyfuss obsessing on mashed potatoes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The only problem here is that the scope of Mimzy widens way too much in the second half. One minute we're watching these kids on their private journey. Next thing you know, FBI types are getting all revved up. Director Robert Shay—also the cohead of New Line Cinema—helms like a businessman, driving the emotional narrative to a climax that is all about daunting, unearthly visuals. And the effects are indeed splendid, but they distract from the human effects.

Hey, that's Hollywood for ya.

The 180—a Second Opinion:  It takes a long time for Mimzy to get going. Sure, the acting is great, but couldn't they have brought on—or at least hinted at—the action a little sooner?