What's this on my Locker? THE SQUID AND THE WHALE

What a great movie. Totally biased walking in as Noah Baumbach wrote and directed my favorite comedy of all time KICKING AND SCREAMING, and no, that's not the Will Ferrell soccer movie. Since then, Baumbach has managed one flawed gem MR. JEALOUSY, one just flawed HIGHBALL, and one screenplay for someone one else THE LIFE AQUATIC. THE SQUID AND THE WHALE is far simpler and more immediate than any of those projects, mostly because its ripped right out of Baumbach's own life. Who is the Squid and WHo is the Whale? He leaves those choices up to the audience as Walt and Frank must struggle the first couple months of their parents divorce. With sparking performances from every cast member, this movie really feels like it has oscar wings. And its limited release roll out has kept in peoples minds for much longer than a movie of this nature normally get. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney play the parents, flawed to the core, but with the best intentions (for themselves) for their children, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline, who both have their own way dealing with the divorce. Walt, the older child, wins a talent contest singing a song he wrote, which is really Pink Floyd's Hey You, and Frank, well, he gives up using tissues to dispose of, well, you know. Its funny, its honest, its uncomfortable and its far too short. At 81 minutes, just as I am fully invested in the film it ends. Its not as if it hasn't wrapped itself up, it has. Its not as if I felt like there was any thing missing, there isn't. But... I wanted more. It was too good to only give me 81 minutes. So that keeps it from being perfect, but its the only thing. THis movie is pure joy. A funny movie about one of the most serious issues that ever happen to a kid... Oh, did I mention the stand out performances of supporting actors William Baldwin as a Tennis Pro giving lessons to Frank and giving his mother, well, something else, and Anna Paquin as Daniel's student who moves in with him in his new bachelor pad.

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE is recommended to anyone whose parents got a diviorce or who ever thought they were going to, fans of sharp witty writing, people scouting oscars, and people who want catch a quick move. Rick's Rating: A-