The Odd Life of Timothy Green

THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN
Sometimes a good idea grows into a bad movie


2012: Walt Disney Pictures

2012, Family Movie, Rated PG-13
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures

          The Odd Life of Timothy Green is Disney's newest live-action family affair. I personally was excited to see this movie based on the premise and the trailers. I thought the idea was just so...odd, that it had to make for a fascinating story. The story behind the movie is quite fascinating, but the characters that populate it are boring, one-dimensional, and hardly relatable at all.

          The idea behind Timothy Green begins with a couple, played by Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner, who can't have children. One scene I liked in the film was in the beginning when they find this out. The camera shows the two of them sitting in the doctor's office and by the looks on their faces it is impossible to tell which is medically unable to make children. I liked that because it wasn't all that important, who was physically at fault, because what matters is how a couple as a unit handles the situation. Unfortunately the movie gets bad right after that because the way they handle it is annoying. Really cheeky and cutesy and annoying.

          The main problem with this movie is the two lead characters and the actors who play them. I eventually detested the way they treated their unique situation. The couple one night decides to put the infertility thing behind them by writing down all the traits of the imagined kid and putting the writings in a box. They then bury the box in the garden. That night a little boy sprouts up from the garden and he has leaves attached to his legs. The couple realizes that the boy was sent for them because they can't conceive: a miracle! I thought the scene where they are writing down imagined traits looked lame because it was cut short for the trailer but no: it is even worse when watching the whole movie. The problem with this movie is that sometimes it's embarrassing to watch. The script has the couple acting like idiots. There are just so many things I would have done differently in their situation. You can't keep it a secret that you found a kid who grew out of your garden. Jennifer Garner has a sister in the movie and she acts not a like a normal person would regarding the boy either. It was just so daft that the parents simply say "don't let anyone see your leaves" before Timothy goes to school. They think they can keep it a secret that he has vegetation growing out of his legs with knee-high socks. I'm sorry but that's just stupid. It's very odd, the whole movie, but not in a good way. The whole thing eventually feels pointless. I really disliked this movie. It's heart was in the right place, but everything else was a puzzle put together improperly.

          The best part of the film, and something that will make it worth a rental at most down the road, is the performance by CJ Adams playing Timothy. Both Timothy the character and the actor who plays him are wonderful. It's just too bad little Timmy didn't end up in some one's garden who didn't approach every parenting issue with a frantic, wide-eyed "I have no idea what I'm doing" expression on his or her face. The great character of Timothy is brought down by the annoying couple who find him. There were some scenes where I became physically uncomfortable and looked away from the screen when the parents stepped in to try and help Timothy in some odd way. They embarrass themselves and the audience many times throughout the film. They can't embarrass little Timothy because he isn't human: he's a freak of nature.

          The movie's heart is in exactly the right place but everything else is jumbled and messy. You don't want to spend your hard-earned money on this film unless you didn't get enough "weird kid in a weird movie" from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close last fall. Still, I can't recommend this cheesy, melodramatic, overly-sentimental bore of a movie.

          Side note: Another good aspect of this film is...the title. It makes sense once you see it why they call it the odd "life" of Timothy.