For my movie this week, I chose Forever My Girl (2018). Normally this isn’t a movie I would ever sit down and watch. I’m not one for sappy romance movies, and especially not when they feature a country music star and the southern small town as main plot points. Despite that, I actually liked this movie. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s a great movie, but it was good. My girlfriend and I enjoyed it and were both surprised by how into it we got. 

Even though it’s mostly predictable (there were some parts where I was hoping an insane turn would occur, but it never did), it still delivers a decent story about love, regret, and second chances. The movie follows Liam Page (Alex Roe) who is a breakout country music star that was discovered fresh out of high school. 

The opening scene is shown from Josie’s (Jessica Rothe) perspective of being stood up at the altar. Next we see Liam playing to thousands of screaming fans on a sold out tour. The major downside to this movie, which I think is a common problem against most, if not all romance movies, is that its story is entirely predictable. Liam’s redemption arc occurs a little too easily, and Josie is only marginally more than a non-character. (At least it’s not Kirsten Dunst in Upside Down levels, but it’s borderline). 

Once we get to the present day of the movie, Liam learns that his best friend growing up was killed in a car accident and decides to abandon his tour to go back to his hometown for the funeral. He hasn’t been back home in the last eight years since he became a star. 

Josie has a daughter, Billy (Abby Ryder Fortson), and Liam is the father. Billy is not only the best piece of the story, but the best piece of the movie. Abby Ryder Fortson literally steals every scene she’s in in this movie. Absolutely great acting from such a young kid was great to see. She’s hilarious, poignant, and mature. This is where the movie has legs to stand on, Liam has to not only overcome the fact that he left Josie eight years prior, but he has to try to build a relationship with his daughter as well. Billy is named after Liam’s mother, who Josie grew up with in her life also. 

Abby Ryder Fortson isn’t the only good actor in this movie however, I think for what the movie is, all of the performances were great. Alex Roe plays the role of Liam Page with enough charm and pain that the audience can relate to, that even when he makes a frustrating decision, you still find yourself sympathizing with the character. Jessica Rothe does a good job in her role, and despite her character not being as fleshed out as I would have liked to see, she still shows the complex emotions and mature processing of them when you reencounter someone that caused you so much pain all those years ago. 

The country music and small southern town backdrop for the story, while not my go to flavor, actually work really well in Forever My Girl. The emotions portrayed through the music and the scenery are a nice addition to this kind of story. At the end of the day, this is a feel good romance movie. It shows that fame cannot replace the important things in your life, like family, community, etc. 

All that being said, like I mentioned earlier, the redemption arc that Liam faces does come a bit too quickly and easily for him. Some of the scenes that show him getting better and learning what really matters to him are overly sentimental and feel a bit forced. For what this movie is, I was still okay with the outcome that it gives. But the journey could have been a bit deeper, especially since they touch on topics of substance abuse, and by ‘touch’ on the topic, I mean they mentioned it one and a half times as part of Liam’s journey, and then never talk about it again. They also touch on how the death of Liam’s mom, Billy, affected him as a kid, and they showed this through some of the better scenes on his journey, like the rose garden at his father’s house that his dad had been neglecting, and a single flashback scene.

Overall, this movie on paper is ultimately cheesy and too happy-go-lucky, but it does set out to serve its purpose. The real magic in Forever My Girl comes from the actors. For a bunch of actors I had never heard of, outside of John Benjamin Hickey, they all played their roles very well. This is a good, feel good, watch at home movie with your partner. I would recommend giving it a watch if you need something light for your evening. 

-3.5 mallards /5

-Seann

Toy Story Toons: Small Fry (2011) is an animated Disney short with a runtime of approximately 7 minutes and 45 including credits, which means the actual runtime of the short is about 6 minutes and 22 seconds. But what a 6 minutes and 22 seconds it is. As someone who has studied short films (and attempted to make a few of my own [to little success]) for a long time, I know that one of the biggest determining factors of the quality of the film is how quickly the film can establish to the audience who the major players are, and what the context is. Toy Story Toons: Small Fry (2011) is immune to this requirement because these are characters that the audience presumably is intimately familiar with. The voice actors are the same as the theatrical release: Buzz Lightyear is voiced by Tim Allen, Tom Hanks is the voice of Woody, etc. Additionally, we understand that this short takes place in a world in which toys are sentient, and in addition, are rather humorous and entertaining (much more so than real people).

This film uses this aspect to its advantage and jumps straight into the action. There’s no time wasting showing us the world of Toy Story, because all of us have lived in it before. It’s like coming home. Anyway, the plot of this short is rather simple, but there are a few intricacies that one would not expect from a film of this length. On a trip to the local chicken finger joint, in which a miniature Buzz toy is being included in a kids’ meal, one of these miniature Buzzes sneaks out and replaces himself with the real Buzz by burying the real Buzz in the ball pit. The miniature Buzz is taken back home and meets the other toys, while the real Buzz is forced to attend a rather humorous parody of an AA meeting of sorts for toys that have never been played with. What’s impressive is how the film manages to show these two simultaneous yet distinct events, while not making the audience feel like one is getting short shrift.

Personally I found the trials of the real Buzz more compelling. One of the reasons for this is that we’re introduced to an entirely new cast of characters, some of which are rather ingeniously designed. Jane Lynch voices the main forgotten toy, Neptuna, who is a mermaid. There’s a steak that turns into a person (sort of like a Transformer) named T-Bone, a hooded figure in priestly regalia who wears a chain necklace and speaks in slang named Funky Monk, a rubbish container named Recycle Ben, and a deer that continuously breaks a piece of plywood suspended by two concrete blocks, named Tae-Kwon Doe. The true star, in my opinion, is the reptilian creature wearing a pointy hat and a mystical robe, known as Lizard Wizard. Not only is his design the best but he also has one of the funniest lines in the entire short. When Buzz makes his escape from the meeting, he does so during an ‘exposure therapy’ session, in which he’s meant to play with a toy (the Lizard Wizard), and then put him down, and the toy will talk about their experience. This becomes traumatic for Lizard Wizard when Buzz really DOES leave (with the help of Grappling Hook, another lost toy), making Lizard Wizard re-live his traumatic experience all over. It doesn’t sound that funny now that I write it out, but I laughed out loud when it happened.

Back with the regular toys, mini Buzz is running amok. As he was never played with, he’s obsessed in a Captain Ahab-esque fashion with being played with. He repeatedly asks the other toys when playtime is, and generally causes confusion and disunity within the group. They try to come up with a way to find the real Buzz again, only for Buzz to appear behind them, and all is well in the end. Miniature buzz is then telling his tale to the other forgotten toys at their meeting, and the real Buzz is his sponsor.

It’s difficult to critique this type of film (and give it a rating) because, obviously, it’s so short. It’s hard to picture what else they could have done, because any small change would make a big impact on the overall story. I think it’s also difficult to make something truly impactful or revelatory in such a short time frame (and using wholesome child’s play things to do so would add another layer of difficulty). I think overall this short was highly entertaining – it made me laugh, there was a bit of suspense, it introduced me to some new funny characters, and it resolved in a satisfying way. I don’t think you can really ask for much more than that from something that takes just over 6 minutes to watch. Oh, and I didn’t mention yet, but there’s even a post-credits scene featuring a miniature Zurg and a Zurg belt buckle (two of the other kid’s meal toys alongside miniature Buzz).

Finally, about the artistry of the film itself, there are actually some pretty cool ideas here. In the opening sequence, what would usually be title cards are actually written on the food items themselves. They blend seamlessly into the story itself, immersing the viewer in the world of Toy Story. The closing credits are done in the style of an old-fashioned backlit menu that you would find at an old hot dog stand or a concession hut. Details like these are what make the Disney team some of the best in the business.

Toy Story Toons: Small Fry (2011) has a rating of 7 out of 10 on IMDB, a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score of 77%, and Letterboxd rating of 3.2 out of 5. I’m inclined to agree with these ratings. As stated earlier, it’s difficult to find anything bad to say about this, but the overall potential for greatness or genius is limited due to the inherent limitations of the medium. I would recommend you watch this after reading this review as it will only take about 6 minutes of your time, and it’s a fun watch.

-3.5 mallards /5

-Maxwell