Brigsby Bear (2017)

Directed by: Dave McCary

Written by: Kevin Costello, Kyle Mooney

Starring: Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Jane Adams

For a good potion of Brigby Bear, I wondered what the movie was. Was it about the dangers of fandom? Was it celebrating fandom? Why was this kid raised in a bunker with a fake TV show? Why is the Brigsby Bear show important when it seems like he's integrating with the outside world? After a while, James (the main character) gets his flash of insight. He wants to make movies. Not only does he want to make movies, he wants to finish off the story of Brigsby Bear. The not-so-hidden subtext being that if he is able to finish the story, than perhaps he can put his ordeal behind him and move on with his life.

Along the way he makes friends and the main conflict comes from his new parents worried that this obsession with Brigsby Bear is stopping him from moving forward. In the low part of the film, they even institutionalize him. That part of the movie contains the strangest Andy Samberg cameo I've ever seen. Just because he plays everything so straight and serious. There's not a hint of goofiness. As this is a movie written and starring Kyle Mooney, his SNL buddy Beck Bennet has a cameo as a police officer that I thought might end up being the antagonist of the film due to how he kept popping up and looking sinister.

This is also one of those movies where the enthusiasm and naivete of the main character infects all those around him. Everyone begins to believe in James' dream and it inspires them to keep working on theirs. It makes me think that the point of the film might be that positivity can come from even the most toxic fandoms, and while Brigsby Bear is a wholesome kids show, it was made by a man who kidnapped a baby and raised him in a bunker for 25 years. That's pretty toxic.

Kyle Mooney plays James off as awkward and yet endearing. It was easy to cheer for him through the film. To cringe at the awkward situations he finds himself in, and laugh at how everything turns out ok. Like James' effect on the other characters, his enthusiasm is infectious for the audience. I like how the film never uses James' lack of knowledge of the world as a punchline. The film never laughs at him. He is not the joke. There is some comedy to mine in the way he sees the world, but that's always peppered with feeling sorry for him and his inability to see where he went wrong.

There is a sincerity to the characters and their motivations that rings true despite how ugly or weird the situations presented actually are. Even near the end of the film when James visits a prison to talk to the man that kidnapped him (played by Mark Hamill), it's a touching moment instead of a confrontational one. He ends up helping James complete his movie and there is no ill will between them. Yes, James does complete his movie. The audience loves it. It's a nice parallel because I loved the time I spent watching Brigsby Bear and easily recommend it.

Personal Enjoyment: ★★★★★