Colossal

2017’s “Colossal” by Nacho Vigalondo.
Starring Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Tim Blake Nelson, and Dan Stevens.

Movies covering addictions are usually pretty rote. Cover the intoxicating thrill of using substances, spending time with others who morph from mere acquaintance to instant best friend, the seemingly endless world of entertaining possibilities as the night roars on, and the inevitable comedown the next day, accompanied by physical, mental, and spiritual let down (If it’s 2000’s “Requiem for a Dream”, also amputation, shock therapy, and group sex). “Colossal” takes this formula and adds a monster sized metaphor.

Anne Hathaway’s character is introduced as the New York centered shiftless girlfriend of Dan Stevens, preferring to party rather than be responsible. Stevens puts his foot down and shows her the door, and Hathaway moves back to her childhood small town (incidentally filmed in my hometown of Langley, BC) to center herself. Hathaway reconnects with Jason Sudeikis, who it turns out never left the small town, and is the owner/operator of the town watering hole. Hathaway reverts to her old form, with the good times and hung over times firmly attached. However, a skyscraper sized wrinkle develops, as a monster is shown multiple times, romping through the streets of Seoul, which is soon joined by an equally sized robot. Hathaway and her group of friends discover that the gang’s actions seem to be influencing the monsters, and they have to battle their internal demons to tame the city sized ones.

By paying homage to such classic fare such as “Godzilla”, “Colossal” refreshingly supersizes the familiar tropes of both returning to one’s small town, and of coming clean. At it’s heart, it’s about the Hathaway character coming to grips with her addiction and in overcoming Sudeikis’ grudges and biases built up while Hathaway was away from the small town. In particular, Sudeikis shows us something very misleading here: the bully resentful for not being recognized as the nice guy who can get the girl. Hathaway again shows us she’s more than just a pretty face (and overmatched Oscar host), working through the nightmare of addictions issues.

While at times the characters’ slights and grudges can feel as small as the town they’re centered in, the oversized homage to Tokyo sized destruction of film classics past keeps things in globalized perspective.

3.5/5

Trailer: Click Here.