Seems like we just can’t keep Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez apart. Two years ago, the filmmakers partnered up on Grindhouse, and this weekend they have movies opening against each other. Rodriguez’ uneven but enjoyable Shorts is even broken into five chapters like Inglourious Basterds (see: above), though that’s pretty much the only thing they have in common.
Shorts is a kids’ movie narrated by Toby “Toe” Thompson (Jimmy Bennett), a 12-year-old boy living in a fictitious Texas suburb. The movie is basically a series of short films revolving around a rainbow-colored rock that falls from the sky and grants wishes to whoever’s holding it. The rock passes through the hands of Toe’s friend Loogie (Trevor Gagnon); his ex-best friend Nose (Jake Short) and his germ-phobic dad (William H. Macy); Toe’s overworked parents (Jon Cryer and Leslie Mann); Mr. Black (James Spader), the sinister tech magnate who employs everyone in town; and Mr. Black’s spoiled kids, a boy named Cole (Devon Gearhart) and a girl named Helvetica (Jolie Vanier), who happen to be the school bullies who push Toe around. Because Toe is an inexpert storyteller, he presents the different chapters out of chronological order.
Predictably, the rock never makes the wishes come true in exactly the way the wisher would like. The wishes do go awry in unpredictable ways, however, so Rodriguez deserves credit for that. (Just one example is when Toe wishes for a book of instructions for the rock.) The film is fairly bursting with inventive visual jokes: Mr. Black’s menacing corporate headquarters plunked down on a cozy residential street, a running gag with two siblings (Cambell Westmoreland and Zoe Webb) locked in a days-long staring contest, an early montage containing brief snippets of the action that’s coming up later in the film. You can see Rodriguez’ progress in managing a laugh when Toe’s older sister (Kat Dennings) unwittingly wishes something on her boyfriend while fighting with him over the telephone. It’s much funnier that we never see the boyfriend while the noises on the other end of the phone let us know that her wish is taking effect.
Yet for all that, this movie has too many dead spots (the whole episode involving Nose and his dad falls pretty flat), and Rodriguez’ cartoon-like tone wears on you when his jokes aren’t firing. The farcical events that cause the rock to change hands are forced, and the clunky transitions keep the fractured narrative from building any sort of momentum. The climax is underwhelming even though it involves a giant robot, miniature flying saucers, an army of upright-walking alligators, and an oversized hot dog. Bennett’s a flat presence in the lead role, too, and several of the kid actors around him (especially the sharp Gagnon) would have fit better. All these considerations prevent Shorts from being as good as the first Spy Kids. Still, on a scale of Rodriguez’ kids’ movies, it’s much better than The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl.
