Review: "The Art of Getting By"

I liked the idea of "The Art of Getting By" more than the movie they actually made. It's about a disaffected New York teenager coasting through life without any ambition or direction. It boasts an affecting performance by Freddie Highmore, and for awhile it seemed to have a "Harold and Maude" vibe, and that's a very good thing.

The film is written and directed by Gavin Wiesen, making his feature film debut. It's serious and earnest and dares to treat high school-age characters like actual human beings harboring thoughts and contradictions. Ultimately, though, the movie spins away from itself and falls into familiar tropes about boys and girls and what happens when they're too scared to say how they feel.

Still, if it's ultimately a failure then it's a well-meaning one -- the kind made by people who care about storytelling and don't just want to blow things up for a living. We've already got one Michael Bay, and that's enough. We need more Gavin Wiesens, or at least more movies from this one.

Highmore, showing hardly a trace of his native British accent, plays George Zinavoy, a senior at the prestigious Morgan School in Manhattan. George doodles all day in his textbooks and never turns in any homework. The teachers and faculty treat him with a sort of resigned patience, hoping their frequent expressions of disappointment will get him back on track. It's not working.

"I'm the Teflon slacker," George says, with a hint of boastfulness.

The principal, played by Blair Underwood, has to endure having George call him "Bill," since it's apparently one of those progressive schools that only the very rich could come up with to indulge their children. I can only imagine what would've happened if I'd called my 11th grade algebra teacher, Mrs. White, by her first name. I think my keister would still be wearing the impression of her foot.

I greatly enjoyed Jarlath Conroy as the art teacher, who curses at students, punches them affectionately and demands they pour their souls into their work. He'd be an inspiration to hundreds of students, except that he'd get canned after less than a week on the job. Alicia Silverstone plays the frumpy literature instructor, a fact that instantly made me feel ancient.

George's mother (Rita Wilson) is harried and distracted, and his stepdad (Sam Robards) thinks their relationship can consist entirely of stern pep talks.

George falls into an unlikely friendship with Sally (Emma Roberts), a pretty, popular girl who sees in him something deeper than the callow rich boys constantly hitting on her. Tall and gangly, with unkempt hair falling in his eyes, George wanders about in an overcoat not because he's trying to make a statement, but simply because he likes the protection of extra layers.

It doesn't take much foresight to see what's coming. George and Sally spend much of the school year bonding and growing closer, except George is so enraptured with his outsider status that he can't bring himself to do anything as obvious as kiss the girl.

There's also a slightly older artist, Dustin (Michael Angarano), an effortlessly cool dude who becomes George's mentor and later, swept up by a wave of inevitability, a competitor.

"The Art of Getting By" is a well-intentioned story about a slacker. Pity that a movie with so much potential took the easy way out.

2.5 stars out of four

Review: "Astro Boy"

We are so spoiled.

When it comes to animated feature films, audiences have been enjoying a renaissance for so long now that we've come to look upon the extraordinary as the ordinary, the amazing as ho-hum.

With great-looking, smart and affecting flicks like "Up," "Coraline" and "Kung Fu Panda" seem to be falling out of the sky -- or at least dropping into local cinemas -- every few weeks, it soon becomes the new standard.

That's why "Astro Boy" feels like such an also-ran. The storytelling is aimed strictly at small children -- those over age 8 need not apply. As for the animation, if the film had arrived five years ago, it would be considered spectacular. But now, the somewhat flat surfaces and fake-looking hair practically announce its second-rate status.

Of course, the coiffure on Astro Boy's head is supposed to look artificial. The comic character's signature swoopy 'do that converges in a pair of points that resemble horns -- though as Astro protests, it's actually just hair gel.

The set-up is somewhat similar to that of "Wall·E" -- humans have junked up the Earth, so they leave it. In this case, it's not into space but just a few thousand feet up, as the denizens of Metro City float on an island hovering over the surface, which is where they throw all their trash.

A great deal of this refuse is broken-down robots, who are the city's iron-plated indentured servants -- cooking all the meals, driving the cars, etc. The two greatest scientists are Dr. Elefun (voice of Bill Nighy) and Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage), who have created two new limitless power sources: Blue energy and Red. The Blue is stable and safe, while any robot powered by the Red is likely to go off on a killing spree.

If you're wondering if this is a non-too-subtle riff on Red State/Blue State animosity, you'd be right. Of course, most of the jokes -- the power-mad president (Donald Sutherland) has a campaign sign urging "It's not time for change" -- will sail right over the heads of the target audience.

Tenma's son Toby (Freddie Highmore) is killed during an experiment, so Tenma recreates him as a Blue-powered robot, using some of Toby's DNA to implant him with the boy's memory. But Tenma rejects the creation, who can fly and perform other super-feats.

Faux Toby is exiled to the surface, where he discovers a troupe of children rummaging among the scrap for their benefactor, a kooky inventor named Hamegg (Nathan Lane). They dub him Astro, but the robot boy is afraid to reveal his nature to his new friends -- especially after discovering that Hamegg is only fixing up the old robots so he can fight them gladiator-style.

"Astro Boy" was directed by David Bowers, who also helmed "Flushed Away" from a few years ago. He also co-wrote the script with Timothy Harris.

As entertainment for wee ones, it's not poor fare, and the mix of bloodless action and cute/doofy robots will keep them mostly in their seats. Compared to other animated offerings, though, it lacks special powers.

2 stars