Babe: Pig in the Multinational Corporation
I scoffed at the “living in the shadow of my twin” subplot here, but in the end it is actually quite essential to understanding the nuance of the satire. It’s not only indicting the nightmarish capitalism of food consumption, but the possibly even more sinister act of using social good as marketing currency.
I’ve been trying to show this one to my daughter for years because she has so much Kiki in her, and this time it finally clicked. She put a big red bow on her head, grabbed a broom, and cleaned her room right after this. I think she figured out that taking care of your own stuff means you are grown up.
A funny, earnest, and probing take on heritage, privilege, guilt, and the immigrant experience. Enjoyed this one a lot and would generally recommend it.
It does, however, expend all its energy on Kieran Culkin’s character at the expense of Eisenberg’s. That kind of tracks considering the story, though. Culkin gives an effusive, explosive performance that outgrows the movie he’s in.
A classic case of acute sequelitis.
The action set pieces and Denzel Washington’s performance made this worth a watch, but I kept wanting the screenplay to be better.
