EAGLE VS. SHARK (Taika Cohen). 93 minutes. Opens Friday (June 22). Rating: NN
Eagle Vs. Shark is a toxic dump of cuteness that strives to become a Kiwi version of indie cult smashes like Napoleon Dynamite.
A dorky young woman working in a fast food joint ( Loren Horsley ) is hot for one of her customers, Jarrod ( Jemaine Clement , from Flight Of The Conchords). She wangles an invitation to his “come dressed as your favourite animal” party (the source of the title), and they become involved.
He takes her home to visit his family and to also get his revenge on the guy who beat him up in high school. Uh-oh. I thought these characters were in high school, not in their mid-20s. At this point the film crosses some line into über-dorkdom.
Deadpan to a fault, Eagle Vs. Shark would be best experienced as a rental. Just skip to about the 70-minute mark on the DVD for Jarrod’s showdown with his high school nemesis – that’s pretty funny. The rest is, wello I bet they loved it at Sundance.
