By: James Southworth
Rating: 2/5 Stars
All eyes are on Brie Larson right now, and no one should be surprised. After her momentous (and deserved) Oscar win for her stellar performance in "Room", Larson has been a spotlight in celebrity culture for many reasons. Whether it's her inclusive politics or the big hype around her starring in "Captain Marvel", you haven't been able to escape her name easily. I, for one, don't mind. I've stated many times that I really like Larson as an actor; she can put on a great performance. I unfortunately didn't like her quite as much in "Captain Marvel", which is a real shame. When I heard that Larson's directorial debut "Unicorn Store" was coming to Netflix, I was excited. This film had quite a bit of hype building up to it, and the trailers looked promising. Protagonist Kit is a young adult with the mindset of a child, not wanting to ever grow up. She takes on a corporate job she hates, but eventually gets an invitation from the mysterious Salesman who is going to give her the thing of her dreams- a unicorn.
Let's quickly get out of the way what works here. There just isn't a lot to commend unfortunately. I will give it to Larson- she does give a solid performance here, despite the insipid script she has to deal with. In fact, I would say that I like her performance here better than in "Captain Marvel". It's really just too bad that the stuff surrounding her was so awful. I don't even necessarily like the character of Kit (I'll get to that in a minute), but Larson was really convincing as her. The best performance here comes from an actor I've never heard of, Mamoudou Athie as Virgil. He brings a desperately needed sense of grounding and normalcy to the movie. He's the only character who feels like an actual person you could meet, and Athie is quite charming in his role. I suppose that there are also some cool visual moments that work in the film, such as a rainbow that illuminates Larson's face, or the way that the Unicorn Store itself looks. The beginning scene is also pretty good in contrasting Larson's childlike wonder with the cold, corporate feeling of the rest of the artists surrounding her. It gives you what you think will be a good establishing that this world the movie's in will be a bit of an exaggerated version of our own.
Sadly, the movie doesn't really do a whole lot more interesting things beyond the rather solid opener. After this, the movie quickly takes a nosedive into disaster territory. The biggest problem with this movie is its main character. For as much as I do feel like Larson puts on a convincing performance, I can't help but despise Kit as a character. It's clear we as the audience are supposed to root for her. But she is just insufferable. There is hardly a moment in the movie when she isn't acting childish and immature, and really making it clear that she just loves glitter and unicorns. I get that Kit is sort of meant to be a representation of the child that's in all of us. But the movie doesn't make it entirely clear why she acts this way. There's no real trauma that could be pointed out that's effecting her: she has loving parents and a nice home that she lives in. She gets a job right away when she applies for one. So, what exactly is making her regress into her childlike fantasies? I don't think the movie ever really explains it properly. Also, sometimes Larson just randomly decides as a director that she also wants her character to ask questions about sexual assault. It seems weird that a character who is so mentally immature would even be able to think about the idea of sexual assault, or have a desire to date another person. The only explanation that seems possible is that Larson is willfully regressing into childhood because she doesn't want to face real-world responsibilities. Now, I think this is actually a relatable theme, but the way the movie presents it isn't very well done. The movie seems to want us to root for Larson to stay acting like a child for the whole movie. She's so different and SO quirky, so that should automatically make her likeable, right? Well, it just doesn't; in fact, it makes her character feel like a caricature. That's the problem with almost every character in the movie. Kit's parents are nothing more than incompetent therapists. The movie tries to have some shallow development for them at the end, but it doesn't really work when all they have been throughout the whole movie is cardboard cutouts. Kit's boss Gary seems like he could be likeable, but it becomes clear that he too will become a caricature as a sexually perverted boss. This movie tries to bring some humor out of that situation, but it feels rather cliched and tasteless. It also doesn't really work tone wise with the rest of the movie.
Speaking of tone, there is one all too clear feeling that permeates this whole movie: whimsy. So, so, SO much whimsy. It gets to the point where you just have to roll your eyes. It's clear you're supposed to take very seriously Kit's desire to get a unicorn because it's just so cute and so delightful. Her head is in the clouds, and that's where the audience's heads are supposed to be firmly planted as well. Maybe this would work if this film's target audience was children. But I just can't see this movie being interesting enough for kids. The theme in it won't interest them, and the "Kit working for a boring corporation" plot line is sure to make any child lose interest. So okay, maybe this movie is for college kids: after all, it almost seems like Kit is meant to be the epitome of a millennial who is disenfranchised with facing real world responsibilities. But I just can't imagine college kids enjoying this either, as there is too much humor here that feels too childish and there is other humor that doesn't hit the mark at all. I can't see a situation where many older adults would be enjoying this movie, either. I think this film is trying its hardest to appeal to almost everyone, and because of that it ends up appealing to no one. The biggest problem with this movie, like I've sort of been implying, is the way it presents its thematic arc. The idea of finding yourself is so lazily done and feels shoehorned in. In fact, it's only literally with in the final couple of minutes of the movie that Kit realizes this theme, albeit in a shallow manner. The way it's presented is eye-roll worthy. There's yet another moment of cringeworthy whimsy as (and I promise I'm not kidding) Kit finally "discovers herself" through talking to a unicorn. And yes, the unicorn is meant to be real. No symbolism here. That was what made me realize this movie is too concerned with shallow aesthetics. I thought that Kit was supposed to be an extreme symbol of the millennial who doesn't want to grow up. But no, that's just what her character is. That makes her even less likeable, and certainly far less compelling. She's just a caricature; there doesn't really seem to be anything deeper to her beyond what the movie presents to us on the surface level.
I really didn't like this movie. It adds yet another film to Netflix's rather large catalog of original films that are simply not good. I think Brie Larson might not be the right person to direct a movie, at least not right now. There wasn't any distinctive style to this movie besides a bunch of glitter and pretty colors. Those things don't do enough accounting for style, and when the colorful imagery isn't present, the film is rather stiff and basic. This is ironic, given the way that Kit is supposed to be a "lol random" character. I don't blame this movie's many issues entirely on Larson, as Samantha McIntyre's contradictory writing shoulders a lot of the blame here as well. I would avoid this movie if I were you. I really hope the next film I see Brie Larson in is one that I like a lot more.
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