Starring: Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clement
Written and Directed by: Taika Waititi

Guerilla comedy in animal suits

I happen to be a big fan of the quirky nerd boy humor of New Zealand comic team, Flight of the Conchords. If you are too, you will get some real laughs out of Eagle vs. Shark, a romantic comedy Bizarro World style. That being said, I had to ponder whether, if I were a New Zealander watching Napoleon Dynamite, I would consider it one of the top ten most hilarious films of all time (which I, personally, do). I mention this because I have a feeling that I would have greater appreciation and higher praise for Eagle if I were more familiar with the cultural minutia of its homeland.

Despite that, I’m a sucker for the quirk-heavy, odd-man-out sub-genre that this film surely represents. There are sight gags a-plenty, and a Spirit Award worthy performance from the haplessly romantic lead, Loren Horsley, who is pitch perfect. Jemaine Clement is also reluctantly hilarious as her convoluted love interest.

To recap, Lily (Horsley), daydreams behind the cash register of the fast-food joint she works in of romantic, happy movie moment ever-afters. And each day, at two minutes to noon, she poises herself to greet her secret crush, Jarrod (Clement), who works at the videogame store in the same mall—and who barely notices her. One day, when she brings on her best notice-me twinkle, Jarrod busts a move: he hands her a corny Xerox invitation to his “Come as your favorite animal” gaming party … and then he asks if she’d give it to the cute blond cashier and find out if she’ll go.

But Lily is not going to miss her shot at true love so she throws together a shark costume, grabs her big brother for moral support, and crashes the fête. When she prevails as the most kick ass fighter game player of the night, Jarrod finally takes notice, and they tumble … well, no, they kind of stumble, really, into some nerd sex, which, Jarrod at least, thought was sure to impress.

This must be the beginning of something very special, thinks Lily, in the afterglow. Until Jarrod announces he’s leaving on a sojourn to his hometown to seek revenge on his high school nemesis. Lily agrees to come along, and they’re off. When Jarrod’s childhood neuroses start taking over, Lily is left to deal with the collective which is Jarrod’s extended family, who out-Bizarro Jarrod.

The script was written and directed by Kiwi comic Taika Waititi, author of the Oscar-nominated short Two Cars, One Night, which premiered at Sundance in 2004.

You absolutely will find yourself comparing this movie to Napoleon Dynamite, in tone and character. But, for me, Eagle’s oddballs are not not nearly as finely drawn, nor do most of the performances unfurl the same fully committed, goofy strangeness. With the singular exception of Horsley, who could not be more specific, gawky-wonderful, and human? She is the strongest reason to go see Eagle. But there are many other chuckles to be found … in Jarrod’s always track-suit wearing sister and brother-in-law who are a catalog of multi-level marketing paraphernalia, with useful products for anyone and any occasion; Jarrod’s intransigently bottled-up father who can’t get past the death of Jarrod’s sports hero big brother, and takes it out on Jarrod; and Jarrod’s pack of (surprise!) underachieving childhood pals.

No, there’s no one playing a lady in a fat suit … but all things considered, you could do worse looking for laughs this summer. So if you’re tired of all the comedies-by-number the studios are blitzing you with this month, fire up your Internet and find a little theater that’s showing Eagle vs. Shark. At 84 minutes, you won’t have much to grumble about. You’ll see some fine animal costumes, a guy beating up a guy in a wheelchair, and a gal who takes her power back after sleeping in the backyard tent. Laughs shouldn’t be too hard to come by, even without the aid of a pet llama, a twelve-piece set, or Deb’s glamour shots.

Grade: B-