20. Over the Hedge
My dilemma when watching this movie and trying to figure out its placement was “Do I like it more than Madagascar”. Turns out I liked it more than a couple of the films above Madagascar if you can believe it. This film was another surprise for me. Unlike Sinbad though, I had already seen it… like once when it came out in theaters. I remember it because when the movie started the projector was all crooked and I was worried it was going to be that way for the whole movie but thankfully it got fixed.
What followed, I recall, was a really funny time for all the people in the theater while I sat and observed, wondering why it wasn’t hitting me, its target audience, as well as everyone else. Perhaps I just needed to grow a bit older to do so because as an adult this film just fills me with a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
Yeah, again, it’s fairly simple. It’s far more simple than both Madagascar and Sinbad in terms of how it tries to accomplish what it’s doing but the thing that I feel this film does the best is pacing and energy. They’re balanced perfectly here and the way the characters act as an ensemble cast got me bouncing around the room like I was a little kid again.
RJ (Bruce Willis) is a raccoon who is alone and kind of a recluse and he ends up indebted to a very, very menacingly voiced bear named Vincent (Nick Nolte). He tries to steal all of Vincent’s food and in the process it gets destroyed and Vincent eats and kills him… except no. RJ says he can get it all back before he does. So, Vincent gives him a week to do it and then he’ll kill him.
RJ’s in luck though. A group of animals just waking up from hibernation are in need of food and are completely out of sorts with what to do with themselves because most of the forest is gone. Why? Because SUBURBIA has invaded! There’s houses and people everywhere now and the only thing protecting them from it is one, huge, long, seemingly endless hedge!
So that’s the premise. RJ is doing the patent pending “Liar revealed” storyline with these animals and hijinks ensue.
Now, I’ve never been one to condemn a film for using tropes. Every film has them. That’s just the nature of film. What matters is how well a film manages to utilize them. Is it going to be like Aladdin or Shark Tale?
This film thankfully does handle it well. When the reveal happens they made the smart decision to have it be during a time where swift action was and is necessary so that we don’t have to suffer through that scene of everyone sulking off all sad and shit, hating the fact that they were betrayed by the other party. No. There is no time for that. It’s really just a matter of one side taking a little bit longer to realize what they need to do.
The slapstick in this film is brilliant. Madagascar was a funny film, sure, but it honestly does pale a little in comparison to how funny this film is. Oddly enough, Hammy the sugar rush squirrel (Steve Carell) was never annoying to me but he also didn’t get a ton of laughs either. He was more charmingly aloof to me rather than stupid and he didn’t really have much in the way of mouth running lines. He talked fast but only in short bursts.
The rest of the cast is an assortment of people that are all likable in their own way. Wanda Sykes is a skunk named Stella who has her own little arc about becoming less shabby and finding love but not done in a hopeless romantic way, which was refreshing. The possums were great. The dad and daughter had a great relationship, with the teenage daughter archetype just… really loving and admiring her dad and taking after him? I mean wow. How nice!
The porcupine family was lovely too. They felt like animal versions of suburban people. I was just waiting for the dad to drive up to the hedge in his mini van.
Lastly, and most importantly aside from RJ, is Verne (Garry Shandling), the leader of this group. He’s paranoid and strict but not in a mean way. It’s really interesting how all these guys are sort of recognizable archetypes when you lay the facts out but the way they come across on screen has them feeling a little more unique. Verne’s not one of those tight-ass douchey leaders. He has the qualities of one sometimes but unlike other characters that we need to be told care for their family, Verne really feels like he does. Until he gets pushed to the edge, he genuinely shows respect for them too.
One scene near the beginning of the film that surprised me was when Hammy desperately needed to tell Verne something and Verne kept blowing him off because he was in the middle of his speech. The way this usually goes is that he keeps talking until the thing he needs to be informed of is here and thus it’s too late. Instead Verne actually finishes his speech and then turns to Hammy and asks what it is he needs now, with a smile on his face… and Hammy’s the one who forgets what he was about to say.
Watching RJ and Verne interact is always fun on one end but on the other, I really couldn’t help but feel for RJ. I mimed all his facial expressions and even found myself embodying him a bit when he was struggling between his newfound family and potential death. My only criticism of him as a character, honestly, are those goddamn Spuddies.
Of course, since the plot is about animals raiding the suburbs and stealing food, I was kind of worried I’d be more inclined to side with the humans in this situation but nah. Unlike Chicken Run where Ms. Tweety was just a mean lady who wanted to bake chicken pies, this film has some real hateable pieces of work here. Relatably hateable.
Dwayne the Verminator (Thomas Haden Church) is a lovely character, don’t get me wrong. I still have the little jingle from his commercial I heard as a kid partly memorized in my head still. Sort of. The man rolls up with the sickest comb over and the ability to sniff out different types of animals and identify them without even needing to see them. Then fires weapons at plastic flamingos because they might be alive and curses the makers of those things because of it. He’s great.
No, what I’m talking about is the other main villain, the leader of the Home Owner’s Association, Gladys Sharp (Allison Janney). Holy shit dude. This villain has only aged gracefully with time because if there’s one thing the internet hates today are “Karens” and this lady is the embodiment of that.
We get introduced to her in her car, on her phone, saying “Sure I can talk, I’m just driving” and from there everything that spills from his mouth just sucks any kind of sympathy I could have had for her from my body. The line where she’s shown on the phone, again, grilling someone in the neighborhood about their grass being 2.5 inches instead of 2 inches gave me flashbacks to mowing the lawn and hearing my mom talk about how not cutting the grass can lead to fines. One of our neighbors called and reported us one time when we didn’t cut it for too long once. Fuck that bitch and fuck this bitch. She's great.
There’s also the fact that she wants to inhumanly kill the animals, chastise people for not leaning into perfection, purchases illegal equipment to deal with said animals, and assaults people. It was hilarious watching her beat the shit out of those cops though.
Yeah man, I just enjoyed myself a lot. I was never bored. I was never tired. It’s the perfect length. It’s got a good heart. It’s a lot of fun. There’s also not a ton more to really say about it either though. A lot of these ones in the top middle kind of have that same angle to them where there’s nothing really bad to say but there’s nothing catapulting them into ultimate stardom either.
It does what it does well and that was enough for me. Hopefully it will be for you. I’m glad I enjoy it way more now.
