Indie hit Colossal is a weird movie. It is all at once a monster movie, a romantic comedy, and a story of alcoholism. And for the most part, it pulls it off.
Anne Hathaway plays an unemployed alcoholic who moves back to her childhood home after breaking up with her boyfriend. Upon arriving, a giant monster attacks Seoul, South Korea, and she gradually finds out that she is connected to this. Every time she sets foot onto a playground in her neighborhood, the monster appears and does whatever she does, on the other side of the world. Jason Sudeikis also stars as Hathaway's childhood friend.
The monster is treated as a representation of Hathaway's problems. She is an alcoholic and spends a lot of time around men who treat her like dirt. This destructive behavior is shown as literally destructive, as the monster tramples the city.
But the monster is rarely treated as the center of the movie. This is about Hathaway and her struggles. It is true that the monster is the driving force of the story, but very little of the rampages are shown. There may be points where it looks as if the movie is headed toward a big Pacific Rim style climax, but, to put it simply, it's not. But it is still an entertaining movie, nonetheless. Anne Hathaway's character is relate-able, and is played very well. The movie also has plenty of funny moments, even though it's rarely hilarious.
I guess my main complaint with this movie would be Jason Sudeikis' character. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that I felt the motives for what many of the things he did were not very believable. The movie does not try to justify these actions, but it felt more like they were trying too hard to make him into the kind of character he turns into.
Despite the weird concept, Colossal is a very entertaining comedy and monster movie. It is a bizarre fusion of genres that stays entertaining throughout.
4 out of 5 stars
