The Pitch: We
may only get one chance at this. Give me ALL of your ideas for a movie.
We all know the feeling. You are playing outside and another kid tells you that Jimmy is going to jump the quarry. Jimmy is an idiot, but he might be stupid enough to actually make the jump. You race over to make sure you are there before Jimmy can make his attempt. You aren't sure what result you are hoping for, but you have to see it. Either he fails spectacularly or accomplishes something crazy.
That same impulse drove me to see Anna & the Apocalypse. As soon as I heard the idea for it, I just had to find out if they pulled it off. Reading reviews or checking RottenTomatoes wasn't good enough. Horror comedy has trouble getting properly assessed. Even the best ones invite a polarized response. The movie never expanded wide enough for me to see it in theaters (I would've happily seen it then), so I waited for Netflix.
This movie is a blast. The music is lazily catchy. Most songs are sung with a wink and a grin. It's self-serious in a way that is aware that people will laugh at it. The cast is likable, and the lack of story armor* in the script is refreshing. I imagine the movie will be too self-consciously hip for a lot of people. I respect how hard the movie goes at its very silly premise though. And at least one song has been stuck in my head for a week. That's a success as far as I'm concerned.
*Story armor - When a character in a perilous
situation is safe because this is a movie and he/she is needed to move the
story forward.
Verdict: Strongly Recommend
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