Thursday, April 23, 2015

The Plot of ‘The Voices’ Fell Short of Giving Justice to the Promise of Its Premise



Jerry is a factory worker suffering from psychological imbalance.  Whenever he doesn’t take his prescribed medication, he experiences hallucinations, which includes imagining that his pets – Mr. Whiskers (a cat) and Bosco (a dog) – can talk.  And he prefers it this way, as his world is brighter and more cheerful.  On the other hand, whenever he takes his pills, he becomes more in tune with reality; thus, he sees his world as it is – messy and bleak – and is haunted by nightmares of his abused childhood.  Struggling with his mental condition – with Mr. Whiskers and Bosco somewhat acting as his id and superego respectively – an unintended, accidental killing (or is it?) would propel him into becoming a serial killer.

I’m probably not the first one to notice (because it’s that obvious) that The Voices is like a twisted version of the comic strip, Garfield – a socially awkward adult that talks to his cynical cat and is adored by his blissful dog.  It’s the perfect premise for a dark comedy.  That’s why I was really looking forward to this film after I got to read its synopsis.

Unfortunately, the premise was not transformed into the adorable and smart plot that I was expecting.  Sure, the story is not really bad.  In fact, most critics liked it.  But I find it lacking.  I believe there was a lot more that can be accomplished with the available material.

Ryan Reynolds’ performance here has been one of his best yet.  He really thrives in playing deranged, funny characters.  And it’s the best thing that I can probably take from this movie – a reminder that Ryan Reynolds is born to play the loony Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool.  Now that’s one movie I would really hate to be disappointed about.

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