By Susan Granger
If you’ve ever visited Disney World’s EPCOT theme park, you’ve had a glimpse of what Walt Disney and his “imagineers” envisioned as the influence of science and technology on the future of mankind. That’s the basis for “Tomorrowland,” which begins with disillusioned scientist Frank Walker (George Clooney).
When he was a youngster, Frank (Thomas Robinson) brought a jet pack he’d invented to enter in a contest at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. While he didn’t amaze the contemptuous judge (Hugh Laurie), a young observer named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) was so impressed by his optimistic ingenuity that she slipped him a small lapel pin marked with the letter “T.”
To his amazement, when Frank touched the pin, he was miraculously transported to an alternative dimension known as Tomorrowland, a shiny, shimmering, serenely futuristic utopia where the impossible becomes possible…
After that prologue, it’s present-day Cape Canaveral, Florida, where too-bright-for-her-own-good Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) lives with her soon-to-be-out-of-work NASA engineer father (Tim McGraw) and little brother (Pierce Gagnon). She, too, mysteriously receives one of those magical “T” pins, catapulting her into Tomorrowland’s hologram.
When Athena, who turns out to be a Tomorrowland recruiter, warns curious, idealistic Casey she’s in great danger, Casey finds now-pessimistic, paranoid Frank (Clooney), who is living an embittered, hermit-like existence in a secluded farm house. Apparently, he discovered that mankind might not have the bright future he’d envisioned and was banished.
Co-scripted by Damon Lindelof (TV’s “Lost”), Jeff Jensen and director Brad Bird (“The Incredibles,” “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”), it’s a generic condemnation of current social and cultural cynicism, epitomized by our enthusiasm for dystopian, post-apocalyptic entertainment.
There are several surprises (which I will not reveal) and delightfully nostalgic moments, like Casey’s playful visit to “Blast from the Past,” a movie memorabilia store run by Ursula (Kathryn Hahn) and Hugo (Keegan-Michael Key) – with nods to Gustave Eiffel, Jules Verne, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.
But the film is at least 20 minutes too long with a preachy conclusion—and less wondrous than one might expect.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Tomorrowland” is a spiritually simplistic 7, a family-friendly sci-fi adventure-fantasy.
Set three years after its 2012 surprise-hit predecessor, Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and the other Barden University Bellas return for another try at a cappella harmony in “Pitch Perfect 2.”
But disaster strikes when Fat Amy’s (Wilson) spandex outfit splits during a ‘live’ television performance at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center in front of President and Mrs. Obama, revealing she’s gone ‘commando,’ resulting in an embarrassing media scandal.
As part of the suspension and punishment handed down by the podcast pundits (Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins), the Bellas are barred from holding auditions, but they can recruit “legacy” members, like eager freshman Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), whose mother (Katey Sagal) was a Bella.
Under the leadership of Beca (Kendrick) and Chloe (Brittany Snow), the Bellas seek redemption at the world competition in Copenhagen, Denmark, where they’re awed by the reigning champions, the arrogant Teutonic titans -– Das Sound Machine –- led by the icy Valkyrie, Kommissar (Brigitte Hjort Sorensen) and Pieter (Flula Borg).
Along the way, there are several sing-offs, including one sponsored in the mansion of a music enthusiast (David Cross) who rides around on a scooter. But, fittingly, the most memorable is the finale: an original song called “Flashlight,” written by Sia and Sam Smith.
Loosely based on Mickey Rapkin’s nonfiction book “Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory,” it’s scripted by Kay Cannon and directed by co-star/producer Elizabeth Banks, resulting in zany, fast-paced fun, chock-full-of-stereotypical, often snarky, mean-spirited jests. In addition to celebrity cameos, there are too many subplots
On the Granger Gauge, “Pitch Perfect 2” is a silly, sassy 6, going for slicker, sharper sequel sisterhood.
It’s truly pathetic when the out-take bloopers during the end credits are more amusing than any scenes in the shoddy “Hot Pursuit” -– and they’re not even all that funny.
Petite Reese Witherspoon (“Legally Blonde”) and statuesque Sofia Vergara (TV’s “Modern Family”) are gifted comediennes, so why they wasted their energy and talent on this vacuous, buddy/odd couple-comedy is a mystery.
Uptight, overly-eager Officer Rose Cooper (Witherspoon) is a by-the-book San Antonio cop who has a lot to prove when she gets her first chance in the field after impulsively tasering the mayor’s unarmed teenage son who yelled, “I got shotgun,” because he wanted dibs on the front passenger seat of the car.
She’s assigned to escort feisty Danielle Riva (Vergara), the sassy, soon-to-be-widowed wife of a Colombian drug dealer, to testify against a major drug kingpin when two different sets of assassins appear: gun-toting mobsters and crooked cops.
So the women ‘borrow’ a nearby convertible and take off. After a Texas APB is issued for their capture, they’re really on-the-lam – with some questionable ‘baking powder’ in the trunk of the car.
Recklessly written by David Feeney (TV’s “2 Broke Girls”) and John Quaintance (TV’s “Ben and Kate”) and sluggishly directed by Anne Fletcher (“The Guilt Trip,” “27 Dresses”), it’s utterly contrived and their bickering is so weak and formulaic that it often comes across as desperate.
Obviously, they were attempting to recreate the combustible chemistry generated in “The Heat” (2013), an action-comedy which teamed Sandra Bullock with Melissa McCarthy. Adding insult to injury, Witherspoon and Vergara cavort, clinch and lip-lock in the un-sexiest lesbian scene in history.
On the Granger Gauge, “Hot Pursuit” is a lame, tedious 3. It’s cringe-worthy.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
