When I got the e-mail asking me if I wanted to screen a movie called Unleashed my mind started wondering. I immediately started thinking of all the action or horror sicarios Unleashed could be about. So, I opened the e-mail to find out more about it. After reading everything about what Unleased was about, I have to say I was a bit surprised and oddly interested in screening it. As it turns out, Unleashed wasn't a horror or action flick, but a comedy about love and relationships with a fun spin to it.
Unleashed is a ninety-six-minute unrated comedy that goes a little something like this. Emma, an awkward app designer, decides she needs a new start in life after having her heart seriously stomped on by her boyfriend. So, Emma grabs up her two best friends, Summit and Ajax, and heads to San Francisco. After what her boyfriend did to her, Emma isn't exactly in a trusting place when it comes to dating. So, the cosmic powers that be decide to help Emma mend her broken heart and on the night of the Supermoon transform her cat and dog into two perfect guys for her. The two guys, Diego and Sam, slowly help Emma change her outlook on dating and love while trying to figure out how to live as people.
I'll admit when I first read the synopsis for Unleashed I was a bit hesitant about it, but my curiosity won over and I'm glad it did. The story that writer/director Finn Taylor came up with is not your everyday romance/comedy, but that's what makes it so good. Taylor took a sad situation like heartbreak and turned it into something entertaining and fun to watch, while still conveying the message of how important it is to heal so we don't miss out on the better things in life. One of the things that make the story so entertaining is Taylor's mix of characters. You have the down to earth everyday people like Emma and Carl interacting with the bigger unreal characters of Diego and Sam and watching how both of those worlds come together. Yeah, this is not a serious story and at times gets pretty cheesy, but that's another one of those things that not only fit the movie but helps makes it so good.
The pace of the film is good and from the very opening, you're hooked. Between the story and the cast things never get boring. Some of my favorite scenes were during Chatwin and Howey's interaction with each other. It's a short and simple story with a fun twist and the movie plays out that way. A broken heart needs fixing and who better to help mend it than your two best friends, even though they happen to be a dog and a cat. As a cat and dog owner, a lot of the things Chatwin and Howey did with their characters really hit home in a hilarious way and I could almost see my pets acting that way in a weird Supermoon enchanted world.
Some of the cast you'll see is Kate Micucci (The Lego Batman Movie), Justin Chatwin (1 Night), Steve Howey (Bride Wars), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings), Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect), Josh Brener (Silicon Valley), Illeana Douglas (Goodfellas). Now, I'm not a big fan of Micucci, it's not that I don't like her, but her comedic style is a little too much for me and at times boards on annoying. However, I can't say enough good things about Micucci and the work she did in Unleashed. Micucci's character was witty, sad, funny and following her character through her journey was truly enjoyable. Now, as much as I liked Micucci's work, I have to give some serious credit to Chatwin and Howey. Both of those guys pulled off some great scenes and really brought the whole animal to person thing to live in a great way with a hilarious blend of well fitted, cat and dog, mannerisms.
Side note: Unleashed hit theaters and On Demand in August 2017.
Overall, it's not the movie I was expecting, but it turned out to be a movie worth watching.
When I got the e-mail asking me if I wanted to screen a movie called Unleashed my mind started wondering. I immediately started thinking of all the action or horror sicarios Unleashed could be about. So, I opened the e-mail to find out more about it. After reading everything about what Unleased was about, I have to say I was a bit surprised and oddly interested in screening it. As it turns out, Unleashed wasn't a horror or action flick, but a comedy about love and relationships with a fun spin to it.
