FILM REVIEW – Coyote vs. Acme

Welcome back, Doc

Nostalgia is a tricky thing. Small moments can take us back years into our past, unveiling the feeling of a stagnant pit awakening at the bottom of our stomachs. This feeling is warm. Like an egg yolk cracked open and hard to put back in its shell. Once we experience Nostalgia, we want more of it. We only get the Greatest Hits of the past, forgetting the hardships that filled the cracks to get us to these Good Times. Some might argue that films have recently grasped at Nostalgia as a play for box office gold. Disney re-hashes classic animated films into live-action. Horror films pick up where they left off decades ago. The trips have been exciting at the beginning, but then fall off once the welcome is overstayed.

What if Nostalgia was not the engine but the catalyst for a story? Then you have films like Coyote vs. Acme. This film brought back Nostalgia for me not of Looney Tunes (as it will for some), but for films that tell you it is okay for the family to smile together at writing that is genuinely clever. Films like Night at the Museum, for me, growing up were fun because I laughed with my parents. The stories are familiar, but with clever twists that make them entertaining. A bonus if there is a good message baked in the foundation.

Coyote vs. Acme fits the bill.

Satisfying Road Rage

Something is going on at Acme. Wile E. Coyote is still out chasing the Road Runner, hungry as ever for his bird friend. The Acme gadgets he continues to use are malfunctioning. He has had enough of it. He goes off to enlist the help of downbeat personal injury lawyer Kevin Avery (an unsurprisingly-great Will Forte) to see if he can sue Acme to bring Road Runner to him so he can, well, eat him. They accidentally put in lawsuits for every single Acme product Wile E. has used over the decades, and a courtroom battle begins.

Along the way, Avery enlists the help of his earnest niece Paige (an underwritten role for Lana Condor). Kevin realizes he is going up against John Cena, I mean, Buddy Crane, the head lawyer at Acme. The story gets deeper, and everyone (gasp) realizes that what they are pursuing goes much deeper than faulty products (oooo).

This is not a new story. The ‘Small David against Big Corporate Goliath’ story has been done many times before. In this film, it fits. The star of the show is the classic Looney Tunes hijinks, and there are plenty. Hyper-violence has always been the name of the game for the Looney Tunes. There is a freedom in seeing outlandish cartoon violence as physical comedy. There is an innocence to the violence that connects the Nostalgia of these characters across generations. We know exactly what to expect when Wile E. tries to nab Road Runner, but it always zigs instead of zags at the last second. The writers of this film understand that this is the gold. Everything else is just fun.

Old characters show up in clever ways, and the smiles never fade. That has always been the Looney Tunes Way! What makes this film stand out is its genuine goodness.

That’s All, Folks!

The best example in the film is John Cena. A man some would call “cringe” while still taken seriously enough based on his work ethic and reputation. He fits in perfectly with the film’s tone, playing everything with a straight face and knowing eye. You almost expect him to stop and do a little wink at the camera.

The best example outside the film is its own distribution. A Small Story that was almost thrown away by Big Corporate Interests. It almost writes itself. The film references this once or twice, and cleverly at that. The rest is up to us to decide if it was worth that hassle for Warner Bros. or not.

Another shrewd decision was making the film an animated/live action hybrid. CGI Animation style has become king (see recent SpongeBob SquarePants films), and I feel like the style is a decision based on little data. Studios seem to assume this is what people want because their younger audiences are not as intelligent. Not this film.

Like the best of family films, there is general care, period. Director Dave Green and team have assembled a film they want to succeed. Nothing is assumed from the audience. We are reminded why the characters we have loved for so long still matter.

It is punk rock to be earnest in films amongst a sea of cynicism. Feeling warm during a family film is okay. These characters are being introduced in a great way for younger audiences. Hopefully this will be a film those audiences can take the warmth away with them. I would love to see it become a future film filled with Nostalgia of the present.