ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Amy Poehler

A Very Murray Christmas

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very murray christmasSometimes Christmas just doesn’t work out. In A Very Murray Christmas (directed by Sofia Coppola and currently streaming on Netflix) Bill Murray’s live Christmas Eve TV special is completely undone by a massive storm and power outage. When he and Paul Shaffer head to a hotel bar to drown their holiday sorrows, they encounter others who are experiencing a very blue Christmas. Along the way there are appearances from (among others) Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Maya Rudolph, and Jason Schwartzman, some of whom have roles, others who play themselves. It is built around the kind of low-key humor that Bill Murray is famous for.

Like most TV Christmas specials, this is a paean to the secular version of Christmas. The one religious touch is Miley Cyrus’s rendition of “Silent Night”. The focus on the cultural celebration of Christmas centers on these people who are nearly alone as Christmas approaches: Murray and Schaffer who have basically been left without the show that was to be their holiday, a bride and groom who had to cancel their wedding because of the storm, the staff at the hotel bar who are stuck where they are, and other lonely people who have come here. Most of the songs that fill the show are about the idea of missing someone at Christmas.

While we usually think of Christmas as a joyous season, this is also a time when many people are indeed alone and depressed. That sorrow is only made worse when they are bombarded with the message that everyone is happy. We should note that much of that happiness is just as manufactured and counterfeit as the Christmas spirit of shopping malls (or of TV Christmas specials). The stresses of the holidays can wear on even those who find great meaning in either the secular or religious versions of this season. For those in this story, relief is found in discovering that there are others who share their plight—that they are not alone in their blues. Just knowing that we are not as alone as we may feel can bring a bit of relief.

Inside Out: Getting Inside Your Head

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insideout

Inside Out is not a kid’s film. It’s not one of those sweet and inflated stories of heart-filled adventures that giggles its way through a story that makes no sense. (Rarely do Disney films fall into that category anyway.) You know the stories I mean: when the main character – usually a child – loses a parent or loved one and proceeds to grow out of that tragedy. In the case of our little protagonist, Riley, the trauma is established not be external stimuli but by internal ones. She misses her old home and decides to run away.

Complicating things internally (but allowing for much journeying in animation) are the five emotions of Riley: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Fear (Bill Hader). Most of the time, she’s a happy kid, the child of loving parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) who move her from Minnesota to San Francisco. While the plot lines tell us that Sadness accidentally tweaks Riley’s long-term memories to set her off on this journey, parents may acknowledge that maturation, teenage hormones, and other stimuli have an impact.

For the purpose of plot, Joy and Sadness set out through Riley’s conscious and subconscious to ‘rescue’ Riley. They interact with Riley’s imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind), and explore the way that Riley’s emotions work with memories, experiences, and other people. This is what children will gravitate toward, but the ride may be tougher on parents.

Joy and Sadness - Inside OutAs a parent, I saw the impact that an external change, even for the better, could have on a young person. I question what they receive or see versus what we think as adults that they are picking up on. Ultimately, I compared this to The Lego Movie, less funny but more biting. What pressures do I put on my children unfairly without even meaning to? Ultimately, the ups and downs of Riley’s life do find closure and meaning, but it’s a rough ride!

Pixar has again done a wonderful job of mastering animation. While the enclosed Lava short film had nothing on paper airplanes or meatballs, it was clever. Fans will be drawn into “Riley’s First Date?” with its short animation style, and probably want to unpack the ways that Docter put the story together in the special features. Personifying emotions is what makes this film go – it’s what helps it stand out from other films like it about teenagers. Thankfully, the special features delve into that by way of several of the bonus components, from “Mixed Emotions” to a personalized look as “Our Dads, the filmmakers” and much more.

Ultimately, it’s a chance to grab some popcorn and enjoy a thought-provoking hour or so with your kids. What makes them tick? How do they handle their emotions appropriately? What makes us human and how do we figure out what we’re supposed to do with our lives? These are big questions – ones Inside Out wrestles with. It’s part of our calling as people of faith – and parents – to help our kids head out on the right journey of a lifetime.

 

Inside Out: Surprised by Joy (and Sadness)

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Islands of Personality - Inside Out
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way now: you should run—not walk—to your nearest movie theater and go see Pixar’s latest film, Inside Out. It’s a unique and powerful tale that thrusts emotions and feelings into the spotlight, where they shine (in some cases literally) for the world to see.

The premise for the movie is a fairly simple yet challenging one: What are the voices in a person’s head like?  What do they do?  How do we react as a result?

We get to see the answers to these questions played out in the form of an 11 year-old girl named Riley Anderson. As a baby, the only character that exists in her life is Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), who manages a central control center inside her head. There’s only one button to push on the console, and it’s uniquely satisfying to see Joy push it and see Riley smile and coo. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) soon joins the party (33 seconds later, according to Joy), and when she touches the console, Riley starts crying. Joy’s goal is to create and collect happy memories (denoted as colored spheres) while keeping Sadness from adding any on her part. Sadness wants to be a help, but when she touches a memory, it transforms to her color (blue) and changes to a sad one. Sometimes, there are memories that are so ingrained in Riley’s life that they become Core Memories and are saved in a special vault. These memories eventually form islands (or components) of Riley’s personality—Family, Honesty, Goofiness, Hockey, and Friendship. As a result, the console gets larger and a few more characters join the action—Fear (voice of Bill Hader), Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling), and Anger (voice of Lewis Black), who has fire shoot out of the top of his head when he’s sufficiently agitated.

Riley's Family - Inside Out
Thankfully, Riley’s memories are joyful ones for the early part of her life. Then something changes—specifically, a move by her family from Minnesota to San Francisco when she’s eleven years old. What was a joyful existence is suddenly rocked to its core with unfulfilled dreams of what the new home will be like and change around every corner.  Riley’s parents want her to stay happy, but she soon finds Dad spending less time with her and a moving company that makes settling in very difficult. School provides a major test for Riley—and the voices–when she’s asked to introduce herself.  Sadness jumps in and messes with the core memories, changing them and bringing the little girl to tears in her class. This sets off a chain reaction where Joy and Sadness get sucked into Long Term Memory (think of the door sequence in Monsters Inc, but on steroids). Disgust, Fear, and Anger attempt to handle the situation in the meantime, with predictable results. They try a last-ditch solution that causes Joy and Sadness to attempt to rush back to headquarters before Riley loses who she is.

There’s a lot more to this (including an appearance by Bing-Bong, a pink elephant representing Riley’s imagination), but it’s impossible to explain in a short review.  Trust me that it all makes sense by the end of the film, which provides a powerful emotional punch that will likely leave you choked up or reaching for some tissues.

Thankfully, there’s also a heaping helping of inventiveness and humor included with Inside Out. Dream Productions and the Land of Imagination are two such examples.  And I hope you like clowns . . .

The voice casting works wonderfully, as does the bluesy music throughout the film. Of course, the graphics are what one has come to expect from Pixar—bright and full of color, yet able to convey dreariness when necessary. But, as is the norm with Pixar, the story drives everything–and Pete Docter and his crew did an excellent job with it. If there’s anything I would’ve loved to see more of, it would’ve been a deeper probe into the parent’s individual voices (though you still get an appropriate taste of their personalities—and a few additional people when the credits roll).  However, Riley is the focus—and that’s a good thing. She’s going to be the center of someone’s Ph.D. dissertation one day.


Joy and Sadness - Inside Out
One part of Inside Out that deserves mentioning is the interplay between Joy and Sadness. The two aren’t enemies, but Joy is the leader of Riley’s voices and does whatever is necessary to keep Sadness out of her life.  Sadness, for her part, mopes around and recalls the sad times. When the two are sucked into Long Term Memory, Riley begins to spiral out of control and darkness begins to take over her life.  As a result of this, Joy has to let go and allow Sadness to play a role in restoring Riley.  This is just like those times in our life that are painful and sad–often, we don’t feel like going any further and would rather quit or stew in misery. But as Joy notes, “There’s always a way to change things around.” When we allow God to heal and change us, He is able to transform a thing of depressing sadness into incredible beauty.  Or, to put it in biblical terms, He will comfort “and turn . . . sorrow into happiness” (Jeremiah 31:13 [CEV]).  In the end, we become better people for the experience.

Inside Out is a film that will simultaneously convict and challenge you to examine the voices in your head.  What will you find inside as a result?