i-see-jumpy-peoplez

Or how what could have been a great movie went terribly wrong.

One thing you have to know when you sit down to watch a Shyamalan movie is that it’s as much about the human condition as it is about the external conflict that drives. And as a writer, I respect that. Sometimes, like with Unbreakable and Lady in the Water, it works in ways that blow your mind. Sometimes, like with The Village it misses it’s mark and makes you got :wtf: . And Signs is actually one of the few movies that ever pissed me off–probably because I bought it instead of rented it. Anyway with The Happening you have the entire Eastern Seaboard running scared because, “There’s an event happening.” Mark Whalberg plays a school teacher who’s having marital troubles (enter the human condition), when he finds out school in Philadelphia is being dismissed because of the event in New York that is quickly driving folks to kill themselves. He, his wife, a fellow teacher and the teacher’s daughter all jump on a train but the train stops because they’ve “lost contact” No one knows what’s causing the event but everyone initially thinks it’s terrorits/biological warfare. Now while all of this is going on, Whalberg’s wife is getting phone calls from a guy named Joey. (Spoilers below the cut)

Instead of having to deal with a cheating spouse–which could have made for some DANDY conflict while on the run–you find out his wife went out for PIE with a guy from work. Granted, she lied to her husband … but they had PIE, not SEX! (cop out) :wtf: So your human condition is quickly settled, though Whalberg’s character later pokes fun at his wife–which is pretty funny. The levity really helps alleviate the tension….but the tension never maximizes. Bad things happen, people die, Whalberg figures out what’s going on (he is after all a science teacher which means he can figure out anything). The explanation given for the event is interesting but not exactly scary (and left me wondering if Al Gore was consulted on the script).

There was no anticipation, no hurry, no….clock to beat. Just…move slowly in small groups so you don’t piss off the plants,happening.jpg grass and trees who are emitting a toxin that’s driving people crazy and making them kill themselves. And some of the deaths were rather gruesome.

No, I’m not joking. Yeah, that’s it.

The best part about the whole movie–the music. Cheesy 70’s B flick movie music (pre-Friday the Thirteenth here) that totally fit the movie. I actually liked it and thought it was a nice touch.

Even with such a cheesy plot/explanation this could have been a really great movie (if Whalberg’s wife had really cheated, then been in danger and he had to decide to save her…or not–yeah! If the event had spread further than the NE Seaboard and Whalberg had to help stop it? Yeah…cuz you know all HS Science Teachers are secretly Nobel Prize winners. If they had actually gone to save John Leguizamo and his wife…..sure. Id’a bought it–maybe. Sadly it fell far short in character AND external conflict. I almost wish I’d wasted my money on The Hulk.

If this was a book it would have been one I put down after about 50 pages and then never finished. So, what movies or books have you read that fell short in execution? Did they piss you of or just make you go “meh?”