Review of The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013) by Miles M — 14 Apr 2014

I find the most peculiar thing about this film are the events that lead to my viewing of it. It was Wednesday, February 26, 2014 (I would later write this review out on paper at 11:05 PM that night.).I walked over to my grandparent's house in a very indifferent mood. Not great, but not that bad either. Before me and my grandpa left, I started talking to my little brother, who had rented the movie "Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters." We talked about how most directors today don't use child actors anymore, instead opting to use teenage heartthrobs to carry out their films. After a while, me and my grandpa left for the movie.

All I had with me was a half empty can of cherry coke. So at the concessions stand, I brought a small bag of popcorn, and a small cup of water. After I got them, I walked back to our seats. While the previews were ending, I picked up the small bag of popcorn, and picked out a couple of kernels. Soon, the movie started, and after about 15 minutes, one word, one single solitary word popped into my now cleared consciousness.

Perfect. That's it. That's all there was to it. Simply perfect. This is a perfect film. And I believe this not only because it contains perfect acting, perfect cinematography, perfect editing perfect music and all around perfect direction, but once I finished my popcorn, not once did I reach down below my seat to have any coke or even water. Not once. This is something that hasn't happened before. Even as my lips started to dry a little, I barely took notice of that. In fact, I was hardly thinking about anything in my life right now. This is one of my new top five favorite movies. I haven't figured out exactly where it is one the list, but I do know that it is better than "Scott Pilgrim vs The World", and "The Kings of Summer." This is a movie that makes me want to become a real film critic.

The movie, which I am finally getting around to telling you about, is about a fourteen year-old African-American eighth grade boy named Mister. Already in trouble at school due to his lingering grade scores, his mother has taken in a younger child named Pete. While Mister coldly reacts to Pete's presence, his mother is sent to jail. Taking Pete under his wing, Mister practices for an audition for a popular TV show, all the while trying to survive the heat, and prevent the light parts of their life being consumed by the harsh reality being thrown at them.

The best thing about this movie is the acting. You remember when I was talking about how there aren't a lot of good child actors around any more? This proved me wrong from the very beginning. But you can't just thank the actors. A good chunk of the success of their performances and characters has to come from how they're written. Mister in particular is complete with the traits that any person his age should have. There is a scene where he discovers his mother giving oral sex to a man in a bathroom. Rather than hold his emotions back and brood about it like any contrived screenwriter would do, he confronts his mother mother with anger the next time he sees her 30 seconds later. That I what I'm sure anyone in this situation would do the exact same thing.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete is one of the best films I've seen in a very long time. It's funny in it's own dark, and almost heart-breaking kind of way, it gives us characters that we care about, and it held my attention in a way that no movie has ever done before. I'm very happy that I saw it, and I request it to everyone.