I’ve been wandering in a bit of a daze as of late. That may explain why upon arriving to the theater on Saturday morning to see Monster House I had someone never retained the knowledge that the movie was in 3-D. When the cashier asked me for money “$12.50!?!” I nearly went on a tirade about movie theaters raising their prices yet again in Manhattan. [To explain: it seems like it’s a 25¢ to 50¢ jump every six months –enough to raise the blood pressure when there are more and more commercials every year, too. They ought to be offsetting the cost to the audience].
But then the cashier handed me a pair of glasses and I wasn’t even thinking about the money. Or if I was I was counting the money from my paper route to pay for the ticket. I was suddenly 12 years-old again which is the last time I remember wearing those glasses.
"Jenny", one of the “stars” of the surprisingly creepy/fun Monster House is just the sorta girl I went gaga for when I was 12 -- take charge, whipsmart, and pretty to boot. (I must’ve liked being bossed around ? I don’t know) But all this childhood stuff came rushing back to me: scary houses, Halloween excitement, babysitters, goofing around with my best friend, and that weird puberty period when you’re still a kid but think you’re grownup. Jenny is like some sassy amalgam of galpals past, first recipients of my innocent adoration. It was like Emily, Roseann, Christine, or Tammy & Wendy (the twins) were playing her whilst Scott (my childhood best bud) and I were in the roles of "Chowder" and "DJ"
All of this is a long way of saying that I thoroughly enjoyed Monster House. Its my preference for the Animated Oscar this year. It’s as funny as Over the Hedge but feels fresher. The anthropomorphic house is a lot more visually pleasing than those not-quite-cars with tongues and teeth (ewww) in Pixars recent hit. The movie also made me feel far more nostalgic for simpler times than Cars did, even though the latter film works much harder for that same “oh for days gone by” reaction. Best of all there's no fat on Monster House. It moves at a great clip. It’s confident, smart, and looks great –-hey, just like Jenny.
Jenny is too young to be a 'hump day hottie' --hence the title change-- but you are not too old for this movie. It's intelligent enough to win adult fans (I suspect the box office legs will be good) and there's fine voice work from all the actors. I particular loved Maggie Gyllenhaal's bitchtastic babysitter but most everyone is well cast here including, I am happy to add, my beloved Kathleen Turner.
Anyway back to topic. It's totally right that both Chowder and DJ go all goo-goo eyed for Jenny. What little animated boy wouldn't? And besides, all redheads become total hotties once they're all grown up. Everyone knows that.
just for kicks
Ultranow with another inappropriate (plus funny) Monster House post.
Previously on "Hump Day Hotties"
Uma Thurman -tall, beautiful, orgasmic. Cheyenne Jackson -extreme stage hottie crossing over to film. HDH Season One - Jake Gyllenhaal, Lady Tottington, and more...
tags:
Monster House, movies, film, animation
