I saw it today! I had been warned that it was more of a dramedy in its second half, and it was probably for the better (that I was warned). Still, after Jojo's mom died I thought it would be bleak all the way to the end, but there were actually quite a few hilarious moments even in the final act. Except that by then I was forcing myself not to laugh because the shit happening was still horrible… the laughs around me in the theater made me uncomfortable… it really felt like seeing things through the eyes of a child desperately clinging to the last remnants of his innocence.
In the end I found the movie funny but also very moving. That final scene was so simple and predictable yet so warm and cathartic. And all the characters were great; Jojo himself, obviously, but also Elsa, Yorkie, the Mom and the instructor… even that huge Gestapo guy left a mark on me (how tall is that actor anyway? 2m20?)
The only bummer is that, for all the advertisement around him, Adolf actually has very little screentime. He appears in, what, 5 or 6 scenes? …And yes, I'm complaining that there wasn't enough Hitler in a movie. I'm fine, thank you. 
By the way, has anyone read the book this is based on? Is the adaptation faithful?
In the name of being honest
Nope, but this style of Mood Whiplash is very much Taika Waititi's brand. Everyone's seen Thor: Ragnarok already, but do check out his other coming-of-age movies Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople if you want something similar.
Echoing hymn of my fellow passerine | Art blog (under construction)
Just watched it last night with my family and my dad deadass yelled "Holy shit!" when he saw Jojo's mom hanging from the gallows.
It's definitely a dark comedy, and I feel like being a comedy actually helps the dramatic moments hit that much harder, because you're lulled into this sorta false sense of security and then *bam* it hits you with something tragic, horrific, or deep.
So this was a ways back but I had an interesting experience with this movie when it first came out. I went to see it with one of those film lovers' groups on Meetup, and when we got out and started talking about it I noticed reactions to it were heavily split along age lines. Myself and the other younger group members loved it. The middle-aged members (which was most of them) had mixed feelings, and one very elderly woman straight-up hated it, feeling it treated the Nazis too lightly.
Don't know if it means anything, but I found that very interesting at the time, and still do.
Is this the first movie where Rebel Wilson dies?