Title: Welcome to Marwen
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Eiza González
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

What It Is: Illustrator Mark Hogancamp (Carell) was beaten to within an inch of his life by neo-nazis. He now lives day-to-day with the mental and physical scars from this attack. Through this pain he’s created the world of Marwen. In this world Mark is no longer an injured man who can’t recall his past, instead he’s Capt. Hoagie who leads the Ladies of Marwen in their fight against the Nazi’s. Each of these woman an avatar for someone in Mark’s life.

What We Think: Wow. This is all kinds of very bad. I haven’t enjoyed a Zemeckis film since his two 2000’s features in Castaway and What Lies Beneath. That said Zemeckis does enjoy utilizing new technology. That said the uncanny valley, a location Zemeckis is familiarizing himself with far too often, is in full effect here. Those are the only moments that remotely work. There’s a central allegory that I figured out within ten minutes of the film starting and it is far too on the nose to come off as anything other then preachy at best. None of the overly saccharine moments ring true. In fact, most of them just come off as phony and cheesy.

Our Grade: D, An utter disappointment and yet another misstep by a director who’s given us ICONIC films like Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Films that cut the edge but also featured engaging and interesting stories. Here none of those elements work. Carell, though ENORMOUSLY talented doesn’t ring true as Hogancamp. Also Gwendoline Christie’s “Russian” accent is SO cartoonish it ruins getting into the film 5 minutes or so in. It looks really pretty. I suppose the film has that going for it? I don’t recommend this, ESPECIALLY not during prime Oscar season. A total waste of Leslie Mann’s charms.