Review of Robot & Frank (2012) by Alan R — 21 Sep 2012

Robot and Frank is like the Terminator on acid.

If you have ever dreamed of peering 10 years into the future to watch an old dick of man be rude to his annoying children and hug a robot, then Robot and Frank is for you! Si-Fi lovers rejoice! We can except long lines this opening weekend as devoted fans dress up in their best Frank and Robot costumes. I will get this out of the way now, yes, the title is 100% accurate!

The movie follows the adventures, or perhaps I should say? MIS-adventures of a retired jewel thief, Frank, and his adorable helper robot, Robot. They are the original odd-couple. Peter Sarsgaard is sure to please as the soothing voice of Robot. Frank Langella is extremely believable as the total dick, Frank. I had to remind myself several times while watching this film that Frank Langella, the actor, is probably a really nice guy, and it's not him, but rather the character he plays, "Frank" who is a complete and total dick. For example, I don't think the actor Frank Langella would ever actually whip a big bag of hard pasta at Liv Tyler's face just so she would turn on his cleaning robot?. It's the character of "Frank" who is willing to be such a huge dick to his own daughter without a second thought.

At it's core, this is a story about the elderly's growing frustration with the exponential growth of innovative and fun technology. Frank is basically pissed that the young are inheriting the earth and converting the town's library into an augmented reality library. We all know how funny it can be to watch grandma and grandpa struggle with the TV remote, and now that struggle has finally made it to the big screen, except the remote is a funny robot and the struggle is a boring movie. I don't recommend this movie, but I did see it.