‘Nutcrackers’ Review: David Gordon Green Returns to Heartfelt Cinema and Gives Ben Stiller His ‘Uncle Buck’ Moment in the Process
David Gordon Green has never shied away from wearing his influences on his sleeve: There’s little question his recent trio of “Halloween” reboots were beholden to the original Michael Myers features (how couldn’t they be?) and his lighter features have always smacked of the classic comedies of his youth. For his latest film — and his first feature after that run of “Halloween” films and his one-shot of “The Exorcist” — the indie darling is again turning to some of the films that he built his taste on, the “Uncle Buck” and “Home Alone” types, the “Six Pack” joints, the kind of stuff we don’t get so much of anymore.
Billed as a “heartfelt comedy,” Green’s latest — “Nutcrackers,” which just opened this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it is looking for distribution — is somehow a classic Green offering and another swerve in a career built on them. But fans of his work, stretching all the way back to his debut “George Washington,” will find plenty of hallmarks here of both his earliest films and his recent studio features. Mostly, it’s refreshing to see Green doing whatever he likes, combining some of his favorite elements (talented kids, keen comedic timing, a country setting, and a genuine warmth that’s hard to fake) to make a new film that feels as good for his soul as the audience’s.
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As is so often the case with the kind of films Green is riffing on with “Nutcrackers,” we open with a douchebag white man knee-deep in a mid-life crisis so bad he can’t even see it for himself. Michael (not “Mike”) is speeding his way through the Ohio countryside, and if the casting of Ben Stiller in his spikiest of spiked-hair glory isn’t an indicator of what kind of customer we’re dealing with here, the fact that he’s driving a yellow Porsche (the douchiest of all possible cars) swiftly does away with any lingering queries. Honking away on his cell phone about a big deal (real estate, it’s always real estate), Michael is taking a quick jaunt to rural Ohio to tie up some loose ends regarding his recently deceased sister’s estate, and the fact that most of that estate consists of four children barely phases him.
Oh, get ready to be phased, Michael. What’s waiting for Michael on the family farm is the stuff of both fairy tales and nightmares: An endless cadre of animals (domesticated and not-so-much), piles of shit, and four young brothers (played by real-life brothers Homer Janson, Ulysses Janson, Atlas Janson, and Arlo Janson) who are both beyond spunky and totally heartbroken. They’ve recently nearly blown up a local carnival. They haven’t had a meal without cheeseballs in months. We don’t even want to know about the laundry situation. That they’re mired in grief is mostly forgotten in the midst of all their hijinks and shenanigans, especially by Michael.
The set-up is somewhat traditional: will this city slicker give into country life and abandon his big-talking dreams to care for his kooky nephews? There’s a pretty local lady to help things go down even easier (Linda Cardellini as the case worker trying to keep the boys together). There’s pranks and jokes and tricks. There’s some incredibly worrisome home schooling. There’s a very good setpiece involving an out of control golf cart and a large-scale nativity scene. There’s a very good joke about “Rambo” as a bed time story.
Eventually, Green’s film — with a script by Leland Douglas, also one of the film’s producers — moves past its somewhat loose narrative to drive toward the inevitable: like, what’s gonna happen to these kids? Hell, what’s gonna happen to Michael? The early disconnect between Stiller (a seasoned star) and the pack of Janson boys (newbies that Green literally discovered when he visited their parents, including his former DP, on their own Ohio farm) settles after the first act or so, especially as Stiller loosens up and his Michael starts to find his heart. The charm of the boys helps (though some audience members, particularly those not easily won over by kiddos, might balk at their performances), especially as their wacky fun melts into real emotional nuance.
We’ve long known that Michael’s sister Janet was a talented dancer, and everyone loves to talk about how much her ballet studio meant to the community, but only keen-eyed viewers will notice how often the boys themselves are dancing. When they finally alight on a plan — to stage a reboot of “The Nutcracker” that livens up the material a bit, even if some people might hate it; oh, David, we see you! — in the hopes of charming potential parents, we know where this is going. That doesn’t dilute the emotional power of it, of a man seeing where his heart really is and what that means in practice. Sure, that’s Michael, but — if we’re lucky — that means Green himself, too.
Grade: B-
“Nutcrackers” premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival as the opening night film. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution, with UTA Independent Film Group handling sales. The film was produced by Rough House Pictures and Rivulet Films, who fully financed the feature.
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