Weekend Watch - Lisa Frankenstein

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers, is Lisa Frankenstein, the high school romcom from screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno and Jennifer’s Body) and rookie feature director Zelda Williams. The film stars Kathryn Newton as the titular Lisa, joined by Liza Soberano as her stepsister Taffy, Henry Eikenberry as her crush Michael Trent, Joey Harris as her nemesis Tamara, Bryce Romero as her lab partner Doug, Joe Chrest as her father Dale, Carla Gugino as her stepmom Janet, and Cole Sprouse as “the Creature”. The film follows Lisa as she navigates life at a new high school in her senior year, crushing on the literary magazine editor, convincing her stepmom that she’s not going insane, and keeping a resurrected bachelor from the 1800s hidden in her closet. It opened this weekend in theaters. Let’s get into it.

Letter Grade: B-; this film should probably be a C were it not for some truly excellent payoffs throughout the film and especially in its last act.

Should you Watch This Film? In theaters? Maybe. At some point? Definitely. It toys with the edges of what can and can’t be done in PG-13 from time to time, but aside from that, there’s definitely something here that needs to be seen by most audiences.

Why?

                Lisa Frankenstein brings to the screen an amalgamation of Napoleon Dynamite, Sixteen Candles, Young Frankenstein, and the color palette of the iconic school supplies that its title references, having been brought to life by a cast that has committed to the absurdity of its bits and a writer/director combo that are willing to take big swings with the aesthetics, humor, and audiences’ expectations. That ends up creating a mess of a film in quite a few spots with plot lines left less than fully resolved, some fairly obvious set pieces designed to give us some exposition, and plenty of character choices that don’t make sense in the real world, but hey, this is romcom horror, and those pieces work excellently. The homage to classic monster movies, the occasionally visceral violence, the will-they-won’t-they love “triangle” that Lisa unwittingly traps herself in, and the commitment to making jokes that are unabashed in their setup and delivery go a long way in turning what is objectively a bit of a mess into something that should become a cult classic like those films it digs up.

                The performers are the key to making this film’s craziness work, and the core group hold it together with some excellent commitments to the bit. Have we already seen Joe Chrest play the clueless 1980s dad for four seasons of Stranger Things? Yes, but he’s at it again here in a slightly more endearing version of that character, giving the film exactly what it needs in that role – a dupe whose cluelessness makes the rest of the plot work. Carla Gugino gets to play the fun role of evil stepmother and evil psych nurse rolled into one, and she plays her part to its most absurd and loathsome end. Liza Soberano takes her role of cheerleader turned final girl and does the most with it, playing both aspects well – preppy but lovable in the best way. Cole Sprouse gets to show off mostly his physical repertoire in this film, communicating through expressions, movements, and grunts for basically the entire runtime, and it’s nice to see how capable he is of still making a murderous zombie man into a viable love interest with just those parts available to him. Kathryn Newton is the make-or-break point of the film’s cast, though; portraying a lead that is equal parts goth, troubled poet, it girl and occasional mad scientist, she has to walk a fine line, for which she is fully up to the task. From singing 80s power ballads off-tune in her living room to flirting with her crush(es?) to struggling with the pressure of the increased scrutiny after various disappearances that may or may not be her fault she brings the audience in and turns her Frankenstein-esque character into a believable and, indeed, lovable romantic comedy lead.

                As I already mentioned, the story side of Cody’s script might not be the film’s strongest aspect, and in fact, it’s probably its weakest. At least one unresolved plot line, plenty of convenient ineptitude from authority figures, and a less-than-fully consistent use of a semi-magical tanning bed make for a story that requires its audience to look past its flaws to fully appreciate it. At the same time, though, Cody’s comedy comes through at just the right level throughout the film. Its combination of camp, feminism, and shock-value fits in perfectly with the film’s genres, and her ability to choreograph the set-up and delivery of the film’s jokes helps make up for the lack of delivery on some of the plot set-ups. It’s laugh-out-loud funny at some points, and there’s one scene in the film’s third act that had the whole audience laughing harder than I’ve heard in a theater since Bottoms last year. It’s nice to have a romantic comedy/horror that doesn’t feel like it has to be self-aware. It’s still referential to those films that came before it, but none of it feels self-effacing like so many romantic comedies have become. It’s genuine and committed to itself, which is really about all that you can ask for a film these days.

                With a committed cast, a solidly produced genre blend, and humor that seems to hit all the right notes, Lisa Frankenstein lets audiences look past a lot of its story flaws and plot holes to be an enjoyable watch just in time for Valentine’s Day. Is it the best rom-com or horror film in recent years? Not really. It does wear its heart on its sleeve, though, and refuses to be anything but itself, which should be enough to get some people out to see it this week.