Crazy Enough review with SPOILERS!
Crazy Enough is a thing I saw with my eyeballs. It had people moving around and some music. After talking to my friends about this, they informed me that this is being called a movie. I thought they were joking around, but after a quick google search, I found that this is being credited as a movie. After I awoke from my rage stroke, I felt the need to write down my thoughts on Crazy Enough. Let's go!
1. The Plot:
The movie opens with an animated backstory about the two main characters, Fred and Teddy, identical infant twins that were left at the Philbrook Home for Boys. They were then separated, Fred getting a normal life, while Teddy was sent to a metal institution. Why? Because he didn't blink his eyes at the same time. No, I'm not messing with you, that's what the cartoon shows us. The baby just looked crazy, because his blinking was off.
What mental institution takes in a newborn baby? Don't people have to be tested before they're put in the booby hatch? How can an infant be deemed insane?
It's now only two minutes into the film and it's already clear that I've made a horrible mistake.
Now out of the setup animation, we see the twins in their everyday lives, Fred is successful with a family, while Teddy is still in the nut house.
Fred is now working for Mr. Philbrook, who rules his life, and he is apparently estranged from his wife and kids. Philbrook, who is running for Governor, makes Fred go to the loony bin to sign some papers, which angers Fred's wife, who is starting a granola bar business and needed Fred's help filling the order.
Fred goes to the Fitzpatrick Mental Institution and gets splashed by water, making him use the hospital's shower... Oh yeah, he just so happens to have an extra suit on him at all times. Teddy discovers Fred in the shower, steals his new suit and ID, then escapes, leaving Fred to be mistaken as Teddy. You still with me, or has your brain given up yet?
We are now 15 minutes into the film and we're already done with the First Act, which sets up for an excruciatingly long Second Act.
In the horrid Second Act, that lasts an hour and seven minutes, it's revealed that Philbrook is holding his daughter in the Fitzpatrick, the son of Fred and Wife likes magnets, Fred plans an escape and Teddy tells Wife that he's not Fred.
The Third Act
Fred and daughter of Philbrook along with a bunch of crazies break out and head for a political rally for Philbrook. Wife, Teddy and kids also go to the rally to help Fred and Philbrook daughter. Fred and Teddy meet. Philbrook daughter discovers that she was kept in the nut house because she's Philbrook's love child, and she would ruin his career. Philbrook is found out and he goes to prison, and Teddy lives with Fred and his family. The Merciful End.
2. The Characters:
Who cares about these characters? There isn't really a huge difference between Fred and Teddy, because we don't get to know them in the First Act. We pretty much get dropped into the story and see them react to that situation. Now, if were to see Fred's strained relationship with his family at home and Teddy's lonely existence at the crazy house, they could have a "character arc," ya know, that thing that shows a character's progression and change over the course of the story. But instead, we see these two characters that we know and care nothing about, deal with a problem that we care nothing about.
Do you need an example of these two being too similar? You got it, sports fan.It's set up that Fred pays too much attention to his work...whoa, scratch that, it's not set up, it's told to us at the end of the film... anyway, Fred pays too much attention to his work and not his family. Then in the scene where Teddy and Wife (I don't know her name and I don't care) are boxing up her granola order (the only thing she's talked about the entire film) it's discovered that their son is missing. Now, this would have been the perfect time to show Teddy (the one who has always wanted a family) as the family man that Fred isn't. He should've dropped everything and went searching for the kid. Does that happen? No. Teddy attempts to continue working and Wife makes the decision to go look for the son. This is a huge mistake in character. Teddy acts the same way Fred would act. Teddy should be that crazy character that brings the broken family together in his own crazy way. But instead he just does some stupid stuff that doesn't matter. Nothing matters. None of this matters. This isn't a movie. Why did I watch this?
3. The Acting and Directing:
It's all bad. Moving on!
4. That Big Magnet Thing Scene:
During Teddy's time with Fred's family, he kinda bonded with the kids... Not a lot or anything, just enough to push the story along. Anyway, the son tells Teddy that he wants to grow up to be like him (Fred). Again, not really the sign of an absent father, but I went over the bad characters earlier. While having this conversation with the kid, Teddy finds a big magnet in his room. Planting! this will play big later on in the movie.
So at the rally, Teddy is cornered and about to be shot with a stun gun, but as the gun goes off, the electrical wires fly right back at the shooter, knocking him to the ground and electrocuting him, the kid then appears behind said shooter with his big magnet. So the kid used the magnet to make the metal wires stun the guy. GET IT!?!
But how did the kid know he needed the magnet? Does he carry it everywhere? He didn't have it earlier at the rally. Did he just leave it in the car, in case he needed it later? Did Fred tell him to bring it? But he wouldn't know about the magnet because he's an absent father who works all the time. W-what's going on in this movie? And what about that river scene? Could the kid not just stand in two feet of water? What was that? I think this movie is the cause for the blood in my urine. I--I can't think. What happened? My brain no think no more!
5. In Conclusion:
The biggest mistake with this movie is the writing. We aren't introduced to the characters properly. We don't know what's out of the norm for said characters, because we don't know them, which makes their arcs indistinguishable to the audience. With all the seemingly uncharacteristic choices of the characters and the late plants with ridiculous payoffs, this movie feels like a very rough, first draft.