In 2017, Brie Larson made her directorial debut with a little movie called Unicorn Store. The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, and not much was heard about it since then. However, earlier this year, as if to coincide with the actress’ rising popularity with Captain Marvel - which also saw her alongside Store co-star Samuel L. Jackson - Netflix announced they picked up the distribution rights to the film, and the film was released on April 5. Unfortunately, unlike their superhero venture, this Larson and Jackson collaboration is far from a crowd-pleaser.
The film follows Larson as Kit, a failed artist who moves back in with her parents (Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford), and gets an office job to get her life back on track. She one day receives an invitation from a mysterious man known as The Salesman (Jackson), who brings her to a place known as The Store to sell her whatever it is she wants. Kit decides to fulfill her childhood fantasy of owning a unicorn and follows The Salesman’s instructions to make her dreams come true while getting her life back on track.
If there’s one thing that Unicorn Store at least gets across, it’s that Larson is a competent director. The film tends to be visually appealing, with many moments that effectively convey a light-hearted, whimsical sort of feel. The colors are very bright, with almost every scene containing an object or piece of wardrobe with a unique color scheme that feels like it’s meant to stand out.
It’s just unfortunate that the material she has to work with isn’t that strong. The film is ultimately well-intentioned. The film touches on themes of reliving one’s childhood and not outgrowing one’s passions. It’s a movie that’s meant to be feel-good, with brightly-lit scenes filled with glitter and magic that are meant to inspire a warm-hearted feeling of happiness.
However, the film is ultimately more style than substance. The film contains plenty of talented performers, though despite such a stacked cast, it doesn’t make great use of any of them. Larson herself is generally a charming actress, though she seems to have forfeited much of said charm for some painful awkwardness. While the whole idea is that she’s meant to be a big kid at heart, she doesn’t come off as a believable person. She seems totally disconnected from the rest of the cast, and while it’s meant to convey how unique she is, it’s almost as if she just stumbled onto the set and is trying to roll with the punches.
If one were to ever watch an improv sketch, the whole concept is to generally agree with what one’s scene partner says and accept it as reality, even if it’s an unbelievable concept. Larson continuously agrees with nearly everything her co-stars say, and there are times where she makes a statement or an observation where she either seems confused as to what she’s agreeing to, or lacks any sort of conviction when she speaks. It’s an odd disconnect that never seems to sync up, even as the film reaches its confusion.
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast, who normally give committed performances even with weaker material, seem like they’re phoning it in, embodying many generic character tropes. Whitford and Cusack play the nagging parents who simply don’t understand their daughter, while Hamish Linklater appears as Larson’s boss, who’s inappropriate with her in what feels like an over-the-top matter. Even the normally reliable Jackson can’t even make the scenes he’s in completely entertaining, essentially just embodying the “wise mystic” stereotype. While he does have an occasionally funny line here and there, he simply feels like he’s going through the motions.
And for a quirky coming-of-age comedy, this is a movie that’s simply not funny. There are outlandish statements made that come off almost more for shock value at times, and just feel uncomfortable and awkward rather than awkwardly funny. Meanwhile, there will be moments in which Larson will start casually talking about unicorns and all other sorts of magical references to the rest of the main characters that’s meant to be funny simply because of what she’s referencing, rather than there being any real joke made. While the film’s “kid-at-heart” theme is cute and even noble at times, it will try coasting many times on this overall notion rather than doing anything truly unique with the material.
Unicorn Store is a total misfire, and it’s almost bewildering how wrong this went. The film does have an occasional inspired moment, with some nice visual moments and occasionally funny line of dialogue here and there. But the film lacks any sort of compelling drama, due to its generic characters who drop painfully unfunny and awkward lines of dialogue, which are further derailed by the flat delivery of many normally reliable actors. While Larson does show she has plenty of talent behind the camera, it’s just a shame she had to start off with this movie.
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