The Odd Life of Timothy Green

I haven't seen this one, but I've seen plenty of commercials for it. They stood out in my mind because whenever they come on, I find myself thinking "Oh, that boy is SO dead..."

edited 17th Aug '12 10:44:20 AM by Haldo

That's EXACTLY what I thought.

I haven't seen it, but I'm calling it. Boy dies and then the woman discovers she is pregnant at the end. They name the baby Timothy.

Ditto. It looks kind of Oscar-baity, but not Oscar-baity enough to actually get an Oscar. The commercials seems to make him out as a Mary Sue, as if they're trying to say "Hey watch this inspirational kid do nothing but bring joy and merriment to everyone he meets and make an old man laugh again for the first time in years, doesn't that just tug your heartstrings?" It seems very glurgey.

edited 17th Aug '12 1:16:05 PM by cfive

Well, it is a Disney flick.

edited 17th Aug '12 1:30:14 PM by Mort08

Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen such a blatant Mary Sue in a film trailer before, at least not recently. At it's pretty much doomed the ending of the movie. A happy ending will make the film Tastes Like Diabetes on full overload, while a sad ending will just be a massive Oscar Bait cry.

Speaking of baiting, I'm wondering just how intentional the title's similarity to The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is, and what the point is.

Another indicator that he dies at the end is the title. "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", implying that the film encompasses all that is his life. Granted, not every film that has "Life of so-and-so" in it's title ends with the character dying, but it's possible. My guess is that he becomes ill at about the two-thirds point, starting with a scene of him passing out dramatically followed by the phrase "Something's wrong with Timothy". Shortly after this, they will discover the cause of his ailment, which is most likely magical in nature. Ultimately, he will die, possibly turning back into dirt, as he came from the garden or whatever. Then, as suggested previosly, the couple will have a baby and name it "Timothy".

edited 17th Aug '12 6:04:40 PM by cfive

Just saw this today, and I'd like to say I enjoy it. And while you weren't wrong on some points, it was a pleasant surprise in that he wasn't a total Mary Sue. At least I thought so.

Sweet movie.

It's based on a book, if I recall correctly.

Glad to hear it's better than the trailer makes it out to be, but Disney really needs a better marketing department.

edited 17th Aug '12 10:38:26 PM by cfive

@Chu So... Does he die?

http://io9.com/5934309/the-origin-story-you-wont-hear-for-timothy-greens-dirt-baby

Perhaps this is of some interest to some of you.

As for how I feel about this film. It looks ok and might be a nice time. I know it came out in America but I have no idea about Aus's release date. But considering that Joel Edgerton (who is Aussie) is in it. I'd expect it soon.

Okay, that interview made me more interested in the film.

The movie really tried to avoid making Timothy a Mary Sue, to the point that the parents both lampshade and try to defy it. I'd say it was a successful effort overall. The movie was still rather on the saccharine side, but let's face it, you know what you're getting into when you pick up a movie like that anyway.

edited 31st Dec '12 4:19:28 PM by mela

The Nostalgia Critic just did a review on it.

edited 5th Feb '13 12:48:07 PM by Shanethefilmmaker

And boy did he hate it. I can see why.

Hold on... Is that Shala'Raan?

I thought the same thing. It is the same person. I thought that it would sound different without the buzz effect, or that the actor was putting on an accent, but no, that's apparently just how she talks. It really struck me when I first heard it in the critic's review.

I find it funny how the comments before the NC review post were mixed to positive but after it they're negative.

You think this film needs a trope page?

I'm sure there are tropes about bad parenting and all that. If someone can find some that apply they can start the page. I haven't seen the film myself but I'm glad I haven't after watching the review.

You know, this movie does seem to fall under the unfortunate effect of Glurge. It always frustrates me to see a film desperately try to be heartwarming and the like, only to be undermined by Fridge Horror.

before Nc's review, the reviews amounted to, "meh, it's okay".

I've definitely seen a number of negative reviews for this, which tend to suggest that (while in a different way) this is the new Pans Labyrinth- a movie that parents unknowingly take their young children to, and end up traumatizing them for life.

edited 6th Feb '13 7:20:18 AM by Hodor

After having seen the NC's review, I wonder what the message of this movie is. "It's totally OK to be Too Dumb to Live and constantly make a tit of oneself, because everyone else is most likely a stuck-up arsehole, anyway"?

edited 6th Feb '13 8:21:59 AM by TAPETRVE

No, after seeing NC's review, the moral seemed to be "Parents are okay to make mistakes and not learn from them".

I wonder how many parents who saw this film in theaters were like, "YES!!!!"

I'd imagine most of them were either too choked up from the sentimentality or too incensed from all of its BS to take that message to heart.