4 stars out of 5
When I saw that Flight of the Conchords collaborator Taika Waititi had a new movie coming out, I was excited, even if wasn’t a prequel to Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. He’d also done nice work on Thor: Ragamuffin, though most recently, the What We Do in the Shadows TV series did leave me a bit cold. So when this starts off on the too-silly side — look at the ridiculous Nazis, hahaha! — it felt like second-rate Python, Mel Brooks, Hogan’s Heroes. And very Wes Anderson-lite. So maybe I could Taika leave this guy?
Ah, but it was good enough to hold my attention, and by gum, the movie got better and better as it went along. We meet Jojo, young WWII-era Berliner, gleefully attending attending a Nazi Youth camp. Sam Rockwell is a hoot as the camp’s leader; Rebel Wilson as an assistant didn’t really impress. Jojo isn’t faring too well, as his compassion interferes with his Nazi rhetoric. He does keep receiving pep talks from his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taiki himself, mostly hilarious).
Back at home, we meet Jojo’s mom, Scarlett Johansson, who knows her sweet little boy is still inside that small uniform. She has a couple of really nice scenes. And when Jojo learns of an Anne Frank-esque situation going on in his home, his loyalties slowly start to turn.
Stephen Merchant shows up in another Python-type scene. There are laughs throughout, though some fall flat, such as a German shepherd pun. But the movie truly succeeds when it’s more serious, and we realize there are important messages here about friendship, looking out for others, the horrors of war, as well as a timely cautionary tale about fascism. I actually got choked up at the sight of an American flag, back when we used to be good.
Jack Silbert, curator