Kajillionaire [2020]
"Do you consider yourself a trustworthy person?"
Kajillionaire is the perfect example of a film that encapsulates the spirit of films like Napoleon Dynamite and Little Miss Sunshine, but doesn't quite have the gumption to bring it all together. This film tells the story of a down on their luck family who swindles, cheats, and steals their way to survival. Along the way, they pick up an accomplice who feels invisible in her own life and just wants to be a part of something where she'll feel appreciated. The story it tells is great, the way it tells it, falls a little short.
With some genuinely funny and uncomfortable moments I really enjoyed this as it happened (mostly). This could have been a movie about the hard times people find themselves in and the things they have to do to survive in an unforgiving system; with all the comedy flair and irreverence of Sunshine or Dynamite. We get most of that, but where those have well written and thought out dramas that unfold amidst all of that, this one hinges on a single moment that catalyzes the entire 4th act. That moment was strange, out of place, unnecessary, and cheap. The outcome isn't any different for it, and the exact same story could have been told with a slightly different and more subtle explanation; this is what brought my rating from a high 7 to a difficult to pin down high 6.
The story bobble aside, this film is technically excellent. Cinematography, score, lighting, set design, and performances are all stellar and it is worth watching for those artistic elements alone.
Kajillionaire is the perfect example of an excellent film turned sour because of a single lazy scene. This could have been categorized alongside the greats of this genre as mentioned above, instead I'll remember it more as something to be loved for it's parts, but overall forgotten.
"When a man gives you wood, anything made out of wood... he's saying, 'you give me wood'."
