Review of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) by David M — 10 Jan 2013

I enjoyed this movie, I really didn't know what to expect walking in, but I liked it. I read my daughter the book it was based on the night before we went, and nothing was out of place (except for the era), it was just a different perspective. I consider this a genuine nerd flick, not because it's nerdy, but because it portrays nerds with all their shortfalls in a positive light.

I love all of the retro technology references that only someone old enough could appreciate. These references just completely pass by someone who didn't recognize them and not seem out of place.

I stuck around for part of the credits, I KNEW that was Mr. T's voice I heard, and I just had to confirm it. Indeed it was Mr. T in all of his glory, he made a great cop.

/Just an addition beyond the original review. This movies now at the $1.50 theater near me. I watched it again, and I think I actually enjoyed it more by watching it again.

I can't emphasize enough how much this movie portrays the main character Flint Lockwood as a genuine realistic geek/nerd/dork, the whole 9 yard, but they actually portray it positively. Usually those types are secondary characters in movies and often a source of comic relief, and considering the nature of the movie everyone is comic relief, but it's still positive. This just makes my day.

//Here's an even later edit, I added another 1/2 star now that I've bought it on DVD. The more I watch this the more I like it. I watched it with some guys from work - all over the age of 30, some in their 40's and 50's, we all laughed and everybody loved it. I work at at NASA so the people I watched it with qualified as technical people, many as full blown geeks.

The humor was very intelligent - only Kevin Smith rivals this movies ability to make proper use of a running gags.

The use of animal humor was awesome - you could tell what the rat-birds had to say even though they didn't speak.

This fits on the shelf between Monty Python and Kevin Smith where adults are concerned, and next to Shrek where kids are concerned.