Film Reviewsband of robbers : twain and underoosMar 24, 2016 Anchorage Press
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Mark Twain is brilliantly deep, socially critical, and most importantly, hell-a-funny; Band of Robbers, not so much. However, the film by brothers Aaron and Adam Nee is definitely entertaining.
The brothers Nee wrote Band of Robbers, which hitches its wagon to Twain's star as it invents a story that combines elements of Twain's master works featuring Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry "Huck" Finn. Band of Robbers places Tom and Huck as adults in a state of arrested development as they fumble their way through small town America, chasing delusions of grandeur and heroism while chasing a treasure that is of course, marked on a map with a big, "X.". They are grown men grasping to be their own childhood heroes, and reaching for the stars, in this case, is a double-edged sword. One the one hand, there is just no way the Nee brothers could even be on the same plane as Twain-but on other hand, the fact that they go for it anyway is within the spirit of Twain and his characters.
Forget the plot, forget the moral lessons, the acting is reason enough to see Band of Robbers. The film stars one of the Nee brothers, Adam, as Tom Sawyer himself. Nee depicts Tom as a bit of a loser with his dreams intact. His is an arrogant and selfish Tom who, as one would expect, grows on people. By the end of the film viewers will be rooting for him. Huck is played by Kyle Gallner, whose acting is deep and compelling from the get-go. Becky Thatcher is played by Melissa Benoist, but as charming as she is, her character is not given the weight that Twain's character exudes in the written works. Matthew Gray Gubler, the awkwardly-social genius from Criminal Minds plays Joe Harper, and is by far one of the weakest actors, making viewers wonder if maybe his career has hit a snag. One of the most compelling performances is given by Daniel Edward Mora as Jorge Jiminez (yes, "Jimenez" is spelled that way in the movie). Jorge is an undocumented Mexican worker who gets the short-end of stick and is a victim of Sawyer's shenanigans, much like Twain's character of Jim-a slave-he is one of the must human and humane anchors in the plot. The remarkable Stephen Lang transforms himself into Injun Joe, who, in this version of Twain's world, is not Native American. He is a violent, white man who appropriates Native culture. Depending on viewers' point of view, this, along with the caricature leitmotif of "Indian" drumming whenever Injun Joe comes into the frame, added to the treatment and references to "illegals" when it comes to Mexicans, could come off as incredibly racist-but is it? Is Twain racist in the use of the "N" word? It's a fine line that is blurred by the characters themselves when they ask whether something is racist or not. The white Injun Joe responds to questions about him calling himself "Injun Joe" if he isn't Native American, to which he in turn asks, if it is racist to want to be of another race? Rachel Dolezal
Band of Robbers is not a classic, or at least not an instant one, it's rather flat, predictable, and derivative, but it has some bright spots. It reminds one of Owen, Luke, and the lesser-known Wilson brother, Andrew when they made Bottlerocket. Bottlerocket (1996) definitely has a following, mostly one of young, male dudes of certain era and Band of Robbers shares some of the same appeal. What was important about Bottlerocket, as it is with Band of Robbers, is the excellent acting, which then can launch actors into a million, and often, very successful directions. Perhaps it's not so silly after all to hitch Band of Robbers to Twain's stars, perhaps he would even approve of adult men wearing Underoos and taking leaps of faith.
Band of Robbers shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, March 28 at 8 p.m.
The brothers Nee wrote Band of Robbers, which hitches its wagon to Twain's star as it invents a story that combines elements of Twain's master works featuring Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry "Huck" Finn. Band of Robbers places Tom and Huck as adults in a state of arrested development as they fumble their way through small town America, chasing delusions of grandeur and heroism while chasing a treasure that is of course, marked on a map with a big, "X.". They are grown men grasping to be their own childhood heroes, and reaching for the stars, in this case, is a double-edged sword. One the one hand, there is just no way the Nee brothers could even be on the same plane as Twain-but on other hand, the fact that they go for it anyway is within the spirit of Twain and his characters.
Forget the plot, forget the moral lessons, the acting is reason enough to see Band of Robbers. The film stars one of the Nee brothers, Adam, as Tom Sawyer himself. Nee depicts Tom as a bit of a loser with his dreams intact. His is an arrogant and selfish Tom who, as one would expect, grows on people. By the end of the film viewers will be rooting for him. Huck is played by Kyle Gallner, whose acting is deep and compelling from the get-go. Becky Thatcher is played by Melissa Benoist, but as charming as she is, her character is not given the weight that Twain's character exudes in the written works. Matthew Gray Gubler, the awkwardly-social genius from Criminal Minds plays Joe Harper, and is by far one of the weakest actors, making viewers wonder if maybe his career has hit a snag. One of the most compelling performances is given by Daniel Edward Mora as Jorge Jiminez (yes, "Jimenez" is spelled that way in the movie). Jorge is an undocumented Mexican worker who gets the short-end of stick and is a victim of Sawyer's shenanigans, much like Twain's character of Jim-a slave-he is one of the must human and humane anchors in the plot. The remarkable Stephen Lang transforms himself into Injun Joe, who, in this version of Twain's world, is not Native American. He is a violent, white man who appropriates Native culture. Depending on viewers' point of view, this, along with the caricature leitmotif of "Indian" drumming whenever Injun Joe comes into the frame, added to the treatment and references to "illegals" when it comes to Mexicans, could come off as incredibly racist-but is it? Is Twain racist in the use of the "N" word? It's a fine line that is blurred by the characters themselves when they ask whether something is racist or not. The white Injun Joe responds to questions about him calling himself "Injun Joe" if he isn't Native American, to which he in turn asks, if it is racist to want to be of another race? Rachel Dolezal
Band of Robbers is not a classic, or at least not an instant one, it's rather flat, predictable, and derivative, but it has some bright spots. It reminds one of Owen, Luke, and the lesser-known Wilson brother, Andrew when they made Bottlerocket. Bottlerocket (1996) definitely has a following, mostly one of young, male dudes of certain era and Band of Robbers shares some of the same appeal. What was important about Bottlerocket, as it is with Band of Robbers, is the excellent acting, which then can launch actors into a million, and often, very successful directions. Perhaps it's not so silly after all to hitch Band of Robbers to Twain's stars, perhaps he would even approve of adult men wearing Underoos and taking leaps of faith.
Band of Robbers shows at Bear Tooth on Monday, March 28 at 8 p.m.