Review of Infinitely Polar Bear (2014) by Matt C — 02 Aug 2015

So close to working but ultimately unsatisfying, Infinitely Polar Bear is a movie that's often cute, sometimes funny, and rarely feels complete. While there aren't any glaring issues with it, it's just so close to being a good movie but small, accumulating problems make it just okay in the end.

Mark Ruffalo and company give good performances, but it seems to be writer/director Maya Forbes's fault that the movie never wire takes off because of the movie's underwhelming script, overly sweet direction, and inability to make any use of its protagonist's bipolar disorder.

As stated before, this movie is cute. There are even times when it's really cute, and actually pretty funny. The two child actors do really good jobs at being sarcastic without being aware of themselves and do actually seem like they're the foundation of this onscreen family.

It's one thing for child actors to avoid being annoying, but these two girls were genuinely nice to watch. They also compliment the movie's different tones, and although the tones shift, they're completely justified.

Given that the protagonist is bipolar, it makes perfect sense that the film itself wouldn't be completely tonally consistent. However, it's the movie's tone that undermines the film as a whole.

Again, this movie is really cute, and that cuteness bleeds into scenes that should be more emotional. The movie is pretty sugar-coated, even when it isn't particularly happy or funny. Forbes's direction seems to always be trying to find the humor in the situations at hand, and it seems to undermine the drama to a noticeable degree.

Because Mark Ruffalo's character is seen by the film as silly at times, there is no real reason that he should have been a bipolar character. With the mistakes he makes and faults that he has, he arguably could have just been a stupid dad trying to find his stride.

The movie isn't tasteless or anything; it simply doesn't have the strength to live up to its convictions of being a movie about a bipolar father. A movie with a character like this should be happy and sad, not just happy and sometimes with a hint of sadness to further the plot.

Despite its scenes of true joy, fair amount of laughs, and pretty breezy pacing, Infinitely Polar Bear seems too afraid to create a realistic drama centered around its characters, instead opting for an idealized version of reality.

It isn't without its perks and strong performances, but given its plot and actors, it could have been a lot more had it have been more confident in its writing and direction. 6.5/10, okay, one thumb down, average, etc.