Downsizing

2017 sci-fi comedy/drama

Rating: 13/20

Plot: Matt Damon and his wife, feeling economic pressures, decide to undergo the procedure known as downsizing in order to shrink themselves and live in luxury with other tiny people. When Damon's wife surprises him by not going through with the plan, he has to figure out how to adapt.

I prefer my son's title for this--Now Matt Damon Is Tiny.

Although I like some of this film's messages, ones that are definitely relevant in today's political and social climate, it seems like Alexander Payne bit off a little too much here. Overly ambitious thematically, this has a little trouble settling on a central message. It's almost like Payne (and co-writer Jim Taylor) first decided that a tiny Matt Damon would make a great movie and then tried to figure out what themes could fit in with something like that instead of really having something to say and coming up with the metaphors to deliver the message.

There's also difficulty establishing the right tone. The comedy is front-and-center at times, and at other times, the drama stands out. A balance is never really reached though. Damon is his usual self, but he seems to have trouble figuring out whether he's in a comedic sci-fi movie or a human drama. Once Christoph Waltz pops in, stealing every scene he's in for better or for worse, things get a little more interesting. And then there's Hong Chau, easily the funniest thing about the movie. But so much of what makes her character and lines funny depends on her character being a stereotype of Asian women acclimating themselves to Western culture. I smiled while watching her performance, but I really didn't feel good about the whole thing.

There are poignant moments, and the movie's got a good message or three along with a clever premise. It's just never as funny or as earnest as it wants to be and therefore just isn't effective.