I Should Have Let It Stay A Secret..."The Secret Life Of Pets"

The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey,

Directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney

The Story:

Max (Louis C.K.) is a terrier who lives a happy life with Katie (Kemper). Until one day she brings home a stray named Duke (Stonestreet) and the two just don't get along. Naturally, one day Max's attempt to get rid of Duke wind up with them both on the lam from the law, and when Snowball (Hart) shows them the seedy underside of abandoned pets in New York City, they both just want to get home as soon as possible.

Sound familiar?

Yep, it's the plot to Toy Story, only this time substitute pets for toys, and you're guaranteed a smash hit for the whole family.

Except for all the charm and heart, this movie forgot to add most of that in.

The framework for the story was already done for them by Pixar, Illumination Entertainment forgot to add in all the fun, excitement and warmth that made Toy Story an instant classic.

Instead, they relied on a host of funny comedians and hoped that they would be enough to make this one fun on its own.

Ooops.

Doesn't really work that way.

I think the two most enjoyable characters in the film were voiced by Albert Brooks and Dana Carvey, and they were minor characters that show up in the 2nd half of the film.

At the end of the day, it's not unwatchable.

I've just seen too many animated films by all the studios continually push that bar ever higher, and it's not enough, for me anyway, to just be an animated film to entice families to watch together.

Final Grade: C

You Will Get The "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Theme Song Stuck In Your Head

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015)  

TV-14

Starring Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Carol Kane, Jane Krakowski,

Created by Tina Fey & Robert Carlock

The Story:

15 years after being abducted into a Doomsday Cult, Kimmy Schmidt (Kemper) is freed, and decides that she doesn't want to exist by cashing in on the fame of being one of the bunker girls, but instead wants to start a new life for herself in New York City. But if she thought life in a bunker was weird, she ain't seen nothing yet!

My guess with most viewers, you're either going to enjoy this Netflix Original series, or you are probably going to run screaming in the other direction as fast as possible.

I'm not sure there's a middle ground here.

Even after the first episode, I pondered to myself, "what exactly have I just watched" ?

But the next episode comes on, and the strangeness invites itself in and lets you know that it's here to stay.

This is a world populated by strange characters, and the little girl that grew up in the bunker is far from the craziest person you'll meet.

Kimmy of course is a woman with the soul and mentality of a teenage girl. She's yet to fully grow up, but that's part of her charm.

There's her roomate, Titus (Burgess) who may be the greatest asset to the show. He's hilarious and winds up in some of the oddest predicaments that you could imagine.

Then we have their landlord, Lillian (Kane) who is a box of rocks short of having a box of rocks, but has a heart of mostly gold.

Finally, Jacqueline (Krakowski). the socialite who Kimmy begins nannying for but will go through some personal upheavals throughout the seasons.

That's a quick look at the players, and they are surrounded by even crazier guests, but the show always drives forward with smaller pieces that feed a larger story arc.

It's always wild, a little weird, but usually quite fun.

That's not to say it's perfect.

When we venture back and meet Kimmy's family during the trial...

Well, let's just say those were a few weird characters too many.

Season Two course-corrected a bit and introduced a recurring Tina Fey character that was fundamentally different from the one she played in the first season, and helped move Kimmy's storyline along.

What's going to happen in Season 3?

Hard to say, but they left off with an intriguing enough cliffhanger to keep us guessing.

Final Grade:  B