Genre: Comedy
Director: Karey Kirkpatrick
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, Yara Shahidi, Nicole Ari Parker, Ronny Cox, Martin Sheen
RunTime: 1 hr 47 mins
Released By: UIP
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://m.imaginethatmovie.com/

Opening Day: 15 October 2009

Synopsis:

In Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies' family comedy "Imagine That," Eddie Murphy stars as a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter's imaginary world.

Movie Review:

Eddie Murphy's comedic slate swings wildly between something you will gladly bring your child to and films which even adults will cringe at. The problem often is, it can be a little hard to tell at times. This time, however, his film offers a respite from the majority of liberal, Hollywood teen films in the market. Imagine That is a film best described as a cross between Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories and Dwayne Johnson's The Game Plan - a film that is refreshingly free of crude jokes, dubious morals, sexual innuendos or uncomfortable social themes. Murphy plays the role of a successful financial executive who neglects his daughter and experiences a marital breakdown. The focus is clearly kept off the separation and marital woes and, instead, focused squarely on the relationship and interaction between Murphy and his daughter, in whom he eventually finds child-like wisdom in her socially awkward disposition.

Imagine That highlights an absent father theme made popular in no small part by the likes of the surprising winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Barack Obama. This time, however, it focuses on a father who is actually so successful professionally that neglect arises out of the inability of the father to connect emotionally with the child. A big part of the enjoyment derived from this film is from Murphy, who does a terrific job portraying the frustrations of a parent so absorbed in his career success that he fails to see the needs and perceptions of those around him. In particular, his portrayal of annoyances at his daughter Olivia's childish quirks, as well has his harried patronage and pacifying of her whims might really hit the nail on the spot for anyone who has been annoyed by a child. Thankfully, director Karey Kirkpatrick only exposes the audience to the extremes of Olivia's behavior for a very short period at the start of the movie - sufficient to develop an empathy for Murphy's character. Unlike The Game Plan, where The Rock essentially dealt with a child so obnoxious and annoying the audience potentially finds themselves rooting for some comeuppance and missing the point entirely, Imagine That focuses on the sensitivities and understanding needed to sustain a parent-child relationship.

Kirkpatrick also brings the best out of Murphy's comedic ability by engaging his campiness at the right moments in a measured, natural manner. Thomas Haden Church provides an amazing foil to Murphy - watch for Johnny Whitefeather, a parody of the modern day professional hawking motivational gimmickry. A rival financial executive hawking stock analysis based on group motivational chanting in the boardrooms, Whitefeather annoys wonderfully with his arrogance with being the next hot talent. Murphy constantly battles with a man who befuddles his own old-school, hardworking mentality through flashy presentations filled with waterfalls, animalistic references and rituals selling his ancestral shamanism. The end result is unimaginably hilarious, as Murphy in his exasperation resorts to hawking a performance sheet covered with sparkly glue, saying the client should by the stock because it's "sparkly!!"

Ultimately, many in the audience will recognise and empathise with many scenes and incidents that reflect the many frustrations of modern life - they seem so antagonising, critical and demanding hours of our time, yet as we step back, we realise the foolishness of our uptight obsession which robs us of time, care and awareness for loved ones around us. I gladly applaud Murphy for providing a movie that brings the fun back for the family in a way we less often these days. A slight pity in the movie was the total underuse of Bobb'e J. Thompson, whose top-notch performance in the rather more adult Role Models comes highly recommended, a film that grapples with children dealing with dysfunctional adults on the mend.Hitting sheer heights of hilarity, in particular with his hilarious rendition of Kiss' The Demon, he is reduced to an almost cameo-like role in Imagine That.

It is however something I am deeply grateful for. Films such as Role Models package children in films totally unsuitable for a young audience. Imagine That, however, provides role models, positive messaging and a wonderful innocence that shouts in the face of films which see the need to employ crass language, nudity or dubious moral inclinations to satisfy an increasingly desensitised world. Imagine That is not only something any family can watch, but also something the general public can appreciate, enjoy and laugh along readily.   

Movie Rating:



Review by Daniel Lim