If you're looking for something to watch this weekend, you should seriously consider "The Mitchells vs. the Machines," which releases on Netflix on April 30. Yes, it's animated and yes, it's a kid's movie. It's also a kids movie that's for adults. Above all, though, it has rave reviews, and they're well-earned. Townhall was granted access to an advanced screening, so you can take our word for it.
The film follows an awkwardly dysfunctional but nevertheless lovable and relatable family, the Mitchells, whose patriarch, Rick (Danny McBride) is dead set on patching things up with his college-bound daughter, Katie (Abbi Jacobson). How does he plan to do that? By canceling her flight to school and driving her there as part of a family cross-country trip, along with the mom, Linda (Maya Rudolph), and little brother, Aaron (Michael Rianda). There's also the lovable pug, Monchi, who IMDb credits as being played by Doug the Pug.
So, where do the machines come in? Well, thanks to a project gone wrong from tech savvy genius Mark Bowman (Eric André), his cell phone, known as PAL (Olivia Colman), becomes self-aware and takes over the machines, and soon, the world.
Because Rick had insisted on the entire family taking a break from their cell phones and social media, they're the only ones safe.
It sounds cliche, but it works.
Could the cast be any better? It's hard to say that it could be. You have Oscar winners and "Saturday Night Live" cast members, in addition to comedians who are hilarious in their own way. Regardless of what you think of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, they're perfect in their role as Hailey and Jim Posey, the couple Linda idolizes beyond words. Perhaps the best characters are machines played by Fred Armisen and Beck Bennett, who quickly fit in with the Mitchells and whose running jokes provide great comedic relief for the film.
As I said, it's a kids movie which is for adults, meaning if you're reading this you'll likely find it hilarious. Not that there's anything in it which you'll be mortified for any little ones you're watching with to be seeing.
While the movie's IMDb rating of 8.6/10 stars only comes from 94 votes, Rotten Tomatoes provides a much more accurate sample. According to 67 critic reviews, the film has a 96 percent rating, meaning it's "certified fresh." It has an 80 percent audience score, but that's just from under 50 users.
It's entirely possible, and a hope, that this will be the nominee for Best Animated Feature at next year's award shows, such as the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. What a relief it would be to see a film so deserving to win, not only because it's such a great film, but because it's a breath of fresh air compared to the virtue signaling many viewers have been subject to and are quite frankly tired of.
While the film is not on Rotten Tomatoes' top films for 2021, not yet at least, just give it time. The film hasn't even officially been released yet, and it's sure to be there before you know it.