Review of Nim's Island (2008) by Chads. — 06 Apr 2008

Who the hell does Jack Rusoe(Gerald Butler) think he is? MacGyver? "Nim's Island" comes equipped with two teams of screenwriters. Maybe, just maybe, the original pair of scribes preferred that Nim Rusoe(Abigail Breslin) be given the "Castaway" treatment, rather than have "Nim's Island" be a sort of "Home Alone on a Deserted Island", especially when the loner girl shoos away a boatload of tourists.

For dramatic purposes, her father should be kept off-screen for the duration that he's lost at sea. But, alas, "Nim's Island" is a children's movie. And yet, Jodie Foster gives such an inspired comedic performance as a reclusive Emily Dickinson-type writer, a tension is created between the two narratives, because Alexandra Rover's story seems aimed at adults.

Since Foster raises the game, you'll want Nim to exhibit the same psychological realism as Alexandra, an agraphobic, who's forced to become a hero like her alter-ego. But the island-alone girl never seems truly terrified at her prospects of being a sudden orphan.

Neither do we, because "Nim's Island" includes Jack's progress with his leaky boat. There's never any doubt about his safety thanks to an anthromorphic(read: Disneyesque) pelican.

It's a shame that the filmmakers didn't give the target audience a little more credit and throw more harm towards Nim's way, because Foster gives an Oscar-caliber performance in what essentially becomes a throwaway film.