Wonderful Movie

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Maybe sometimes you do need to throw subtlety out of the window and just make an honest and unpretentiously dumb movie. You, creators of Absolutely Anything, make an excellent point with your movie there. As I watched it, I often found myself thinking "This is so silly," but then wondering "is that a problem?" As far as stories for romantic comedies go, this one must have been fished out of the very bottom of the barrel. It exists only as a base for the movie's situational comedy. Half the humour comes from jokes centred around the magic wishes of Simon Pegg's character getting taken too literally. How original... The rest of the humour comes from the level of ridiculousness of the effects of each wish. The humour is therefore not high brow, but the movie is nonetheless funny, with a lot of good timing. Absolutely Anything feels less like a movie and more like a comedy sketch that has been stretched to movie length and given a budget. That budget is not giant, judging from the level of CGI effects, but big enough to get top billing actors. Simon Pegg does his Simon Pegg shtick with relative ease. Kate Beckinsale is ok, though she doesn't do much beyond providing a pretty female co-lead, who somehow looks 28 at the age of 44...must have been one of the wishes. Both leads are a bit bland. The most interesting additions to the film are Rob Riggle and Sanjeev Bhaskar. They are not funny, but their performances add colour to the movie. Robin Williams plays only a minor role, but considering that this was his last movie, there is extra value there. He isn't given anything particularly funny to say though and does not appear to have been given room to do improvisation. This movie is harmless. It is a little bland and forgettable, but it is stupid fun.

This movie did a lot of things right, but also failed on many levels. Kate Beckinsale is a wonderful actor and is usually a great leading lady. Unfortunately, her work in this movie came off as forced and generic. Simon Pegg delivers as best he can without Nick Frost. I felt like the movie overall was an "R" rated Bruce Almighty but instead of God, we got Scientology. Not a bad watch but you really do not want to watch it expecting Shuan of the Dead or Hot Fuzz.

If you want a silly movie to watch. Forget yourself for a moment and just giggle, or spend time watching something goofy. This movie is a solid 8/10.However, if you are a cynical film critic that takes everything in the universe including your own mother way to seriously. This movie is not for you. Go watch interstellar or something indie and obscure.If you like silly fun on occasion, the this movie is on the recommended list.

Absolutely Anything is a good movie with a well written plot and a top notch comedic cast. It is a very inventive, imaginative story as we see Neil, played by the hilarious Simon Pegg, as he is given the power by a group of aliens to have anything he wants come through. Pegg is joined by the late great Robin Williams as his dog Dennis, who is the highlight for me as Williams speaks in a way that we would all imagine dogs must think. As well as that, Kate Beckinsale shines as his love interest, Rob Riggle is a hilarious antagonist and the Monty Python crew are terrific as the intergalactic aliens. I did feel, on the other hand, that it does not entirely deliver on its potential, it is given a plot line that gives the writers free reign to write anything, and yet it still manages to feel restricted. Terry Jones had apparently been developing this story for over twenty years, but it somehow managed to feel very thrown together. I think the biggest mistake this movie makes is having Neil tell people about his powers. Something that they should have learned from the movie that is most similar to this one, Bruce Almighty, is that it is more fun for an audience if we are the only people that know about this massive secret the main character is hiding, as soon as he tells his friend Ray, I feel instantly less connected to the story. While it is certainly flawed, Absolutely Anything is still great fun, worth the watch if you are looking for a good comedy, just do not go out of your way to see it, check it out on Netflix. A man is bestowed with the powers to do whatever his heart desires, what he does not know is that he is being tested by alien forces to see if he uses the powers for good. Best Performance: Simon Pegg