Dustin Hoffman is an interesting actor to me. He shows up in the most random movies, doing the most random things, but the last few years he has taken to playing wild eccentrics. I am not sure if Wag the Dog started it but it seems as he gets older he only wants to play goofy, aloof and wacky characters. Plus, any time Natalie Portman is in a movie it is reason to watch it, right? Well, this weekend my family rented it and we watched it.
Mr. Magorium(Hoffman) is a 243 year old man who is nearing his demise. He knows this because a long time ago he bought enough of this specific pair of shoes to last his whole life time and he is on his last pair. In order to get his affairs in order he hires an accountant, Henry Westen(Jason Bateman)-side note, Magorium thinks accountant is a mash up of count and mutant, so he calls Westen mutant through the entire movie- and that event seems to coincide with Magorium's magic toy store acting up. Molly Mahoney(Portman) is a 23 year old piano prodigy who manages the magical toy store and will inherit the store upon Magorium's departure. The majority of the movie is spent with Magorium trying to soothe the pains of the people will leave behind and the toy store becomes a character of its own as it throw a tantrum and acts up when it is sad. The Mutant, Westen, also learns a lot from the store and re finds the child in himself as he befriends a young boy, Eric(Zach Mills), who is lovable but too dorky to have any friends. The unlikely friendship formed provides Eric a person to call a friend and provides Westen with a chance to loosen up a bit.
The death of Magorium does not come as a shocker in the movie, but it does provide a powerful message to the film. Family films rarely take on death in such a frank way and Magorium has a monologue that sums up the theme inside the movie perfectly:
"When King Lear dies in Act Five do you know what William Shakespeare has written? He Dies. That's all, nothing more, no fan fare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the world's most inspirational work of dramatic literature is, He Died. It took Shakespeare a genius to come up with he dies. And every time I read those two words I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria, I know its only natural to be sad, but not because of the words he dies, but because of the life we saw prior to the words."
It is up to Mahoney to continue the story and to find her purpose to make the chapters of her life as brilliant, lively and meaningful as the chapters in Magorium's life story. Of course, Magorium's death does bring fanfare and does have a metaphor attached to it, but that is because of the way he lived his life; that is because of the joy he brought to everyone, the imagination and love he gave to all of the kids and parents within his store. It is a fairly powerful final 20 minutes and it represents a very distinct tonal change in the film. The first hour is fairly silly with all kinds of puns and jokes and all kinds of toys, but it is merely setting us up for the emotional ending.
I was not expecting this movie to move me in any way, but I was moved. I was enriched and challenged to think about my own life and if I was adding to the chapters of my own life story. It is pretty sentimental I admit, but I don't think movies that manipulate my emotions are necessarily a bad thing. To see death dealt with in such a frank way, amongst all of the gorgeously rich colors and effects in the store was jarring sure, but it was touching at the same time. I liked that in order to try and stop Magorium from leaving, Mahoney showed him the little things in life that make life fun- jumping on beds and dancing on bubble wrap to name a few. Maybe i was caught in a moment of weakness, but I really enjoyed this movie, a lot. It made me laugh and it made me appreciate the things I have. The performances are all winning and Hoffman is picture perfect in a role that could have been far too Robin Williams for my taste. But I think the script is what makes this movie really tick and to show that I will end my review with a few of my favorites. Save your jokes about them being cheesy and tell them to someone without a heart.
Your life is an occasion, rise to it.
All stories, even the ones we love, must eventually come to an end and when they do, it's only an opportunity for another story to begin.
Unlikely adventures require unlikely tools.
Final Grade: B+
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