Shorts U; Comedy Dir: Robert Rodriguez Cast: Jimmy Bennett, Trevor Gagnon, Jolie Vanier, James Spader, Leslie Mann, Kat Dennings **u00bd <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2009/oct/2510shorts.jpg" border="5" /> What's it about: If you've watched Rodriguez's earlier kiddie flicks (the three Spy Kids films) you'll find a pattern: a number of pesky kids, a holy grail (in this case, a rainbow coloured wishing rock), lots of gadgets, misshapen monsters with a heart (in this case, the booger monster), parents taking a backseat and fantastical things going out of control before it gets normal in the end. And yeah, a moral. That said, Shorts is several disjointed, non-linear short segments about Toe Thompson (Bennett) finding a rainbow rock that fulfils wishes any way it sees fit unless you're specific.u00a0 A loner, he gets picked on by Helvetica Black (Vanier), the daughter of his parents' boss Carbon Black (Spader, a regular on TV's Boston Legal) practically everyday. In the spans of a few days, he makes friends with the Shorts, gets his germ-phobic buddy Nose Noseworthy (Jake Short) and his dad (William H Macy) to come out from their germ-free zone and finds his parents (Leslie Mann and John Cryer; 17 Again and Two And A Half Men respectively) get close u2014 too close for comfort, in fact. u00a0 What's hot: If there's anything called kiddie chemistry, Bennett and Vanier have it. Both are sharp on cue. The kids playing the Shorts may be a bit of-kilter, but they turn out to be the sanest of the lot while everyone is running around losing their heads. The kids here do get to say the darndest thingsu2026 and that my friends, is such a relief. Having the story told episodically was a nice touch, though not altogether necessary. u00a0 What's not: What was the point of having the Blinkers around? Other than add yet another distraction to an already overflowing melting pot of absolute wackiness, they do nothing for the story.u00a0 Rodriguez goes a bit overboard in some places and restrains himself in others; the unevenness shows. u00a0 What to do: While it's reasonably short in length, it's also short on special effects (have always wondered u2014 was it a deliberate thing with RR?) but is big on heart and imagination. Do avoid the sermon at the end, though.

Keeping it kids-tchy

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Keeping it kids-tchy

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