'SNL' star Kyle Mooney infuses 'Brigsby Bear' with childlike wonder
Comedian Kyle Mooney excels at playing sheepish, oddball man-children on "Saturday Night Live."
Mooney successfully returns to the well in "Brigsby Bear." He stars as James, a sheltered young adult living with his overly protective parents Ted (Mark Hamill) and April (Jane Adams). James hasn't grown up, still reading by flashlight or sneaking out of his room after his bedtime. However after a traumatic night, James learns Ted and April kidnapped him as a child. He remembers nothing and doesn't particularly care.
All that matters for James is the fictional children's program "Brigsby Bear."
The setup works. Mooney and co-writer Kevin Costello poke fun at cheesy children's programs like "Barney & Friends" or "Teletubbies" that drill moral lessons into simplistic everyday conundrums.
"Brigsby Bear" the movie is certainly no everyday conundrum. First time screenwriters Costello and Mooney offer a new perspective on the captivity film. James never knew he'd been kidnapped as a baby, so of course he has little reason to despise his captors. They raised him as a healthy, loved child. It's the sensational, aggressive American culture that scares him.
Both director Dave McCary and Mooney are members of the sketch comedy group Good Neighbor and work at "SNL." "Brigsby Bear" is McCary's feature-length directorial debut, and he takes smart risks. McCary interweaves stop-animation drawings into the live-action film, which adds to the theme of legitimacy in childhood interests. While minimal, it works.
It's the other Good Neighbor involvements that don't. Comedian Nick Rutherford is little more than just a plot point as Excited Man, an overzealous fan. The fourth and final member Beck Bennett plays Deputy Bander, a cop investigating James' abduction. Bennett is having a career high playing shirtless Vladimir Putin on "SNL," but none of his comedic chops are displayed in the film. He serves only as a contrast to his partner, the lovable Detective Vogel (Greg Kinnear).
Fortunately, the rest of the cast excels. A heartbreaking scene between the newly jailed Ted and James cements Hamill as a legendary actor outside of his iconic Luke Skywalker "Star Wars" role.
The film features no true surprises. And yet it's highly-aware by intentionally finding humor and happiness in a dark tale. "Brigsby Bear" offers a glimpse on what makes Mooney and his man-child persona work. There's strength in embracing awkward, childlike wonder.
“Brigsby Bear”
★ ★ ★
Starring: Kyle Mooney, Greg Kinnear, Mark Hamill, Jane Adams
Directed by: Dave McCarey
Other: A Sony Pictures Classics. Rated PG-13 for drug use, teen partying, sexual situations. At the River East 21 and Century Centre in Chicago, plus the Evanston Century 18. 97 minutes