Michael's Movie Grade: B
A really fun horror-comedy.
What makes this movie work so well is that it automatically sets us up to be on Lisa's side. As we watch the early scenes in this film, it is hard not to put ourselves in her shoes and feel for her. In the best Tim Burton-esque tradition, this character comes off as a lovable outsider who doesn't belong anywhere. Since everyone has felt that way at one time or another, we can't help but feel a strong connection to her. As the film goes along, her darker side comes out and her actions become very morally wrong. Yet because we connected with her early on, we find ourselves rooting for this character even as she does terrible things. This is what film can do so well, it can make us connect and care about people that we would otherwise be horrified by. And that is what this movie does masterfully. This movie also benefits from some playful filmmaking, that is filled with very clever and imaginative visual tributes to 80's teen movies, old Universal monster pictures and silent cinema. These scenes are simply a delight to watch and will put a smile on the face of many film buffs. The storyline is delightfully twisted, and the playful filmmaking makes this incredibly dark film (this movie goes to dark places beyond what you are used to seeing in PG13 films (this comes close to an R at times)), play like a lighthearted teen rom-com. The mixture of a dark story and lighthearted filmmaking is simply delightful.
The comedy in this film is consistently funny, but rarely hilarious. The humor is a lot of fun, and constantly puts a smile on your face. There are a few laugh out loud funny moments but most of the humor, will make you chuckle instead of truly laugh out loud. While I was constantly entertained by the comedy, I did wish that there were more moments that would make me laugh out loud.
The main problem with this movie is the supporting characters. Lisa is a great character, the creature is a lot of fun and Lisa's stepsister is one of the few genuinely good people in this film. However, the rest of the characters are bland and unlikable stereotypes. Not only this but some of them can becoming annoying at times. This is especially true of the parents who felt more like plot devices than actual characters. While the stepmom is supposed to be an unlikable character, she can irritate the audience just as much as she can the other characters.
This movie marks the feature film directorial debut of Zelda Williams. Not only is Zelda the daughter of actor/comedian Robin Williams, but she has done quite a bit of acting herself (she might be known to animation fans for voicing Kuvira in Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra). The movie is written by Diablo Cody who has written such films as Juno (2007), Jennifer's Body (2009), Young Adult (2011), Ricki and the Flash (2015), and Tully (2018). She has gone on record as saying that Lisa Frankenstein takes place in the same universe as Jennifer's Body.
Cinephiles will be delighted by a reference to the great German director of the 1920's and 30's G.W. Pabst (most famous for the silent classic Pandora's Box (1929)).
This is definitely a flawed movie, but it is also a lot of fun.
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