#12 - My Neighbors the Yamadas
My Neighbors the Yamadas is another in the non-Miyazaki Ghibli series. Unlike the other films, it was based on a comic in what we here in America would call a standard newspaper style four-blocker.
There are many ways to turn a four-blocker into a longer format. In this particular case the director (Isao Takahata, who directed the execrable Only Yesterday as well as the extremely well reviewed but unseen by me Grave of the Fireflies) opted to go with something approximating sketch comedy; each sequence is very short and barring the characters themselves is unrelated to the others. As per usual for the format, some of the bits were quite funny, and others were rather dull. I personally felt the dull ones outnumbered the funny ones by quite a bit. If you want you can even read every single vignette summation, because the internet loves you and wants you to be happy.
The Yamadas are a family of four (Mom/Dad/Son/Daughter), plus Grandma and a dog. Nothing particularly unrealistic happens in the film. Imagine if The Family Circus consistently graded out at C- instead of F and then was turned into a movie. That's about right. In other words, this is eminently skippable for all but Ghibli completists. I wasn't quite bored because the better vignettes were quite good, and I suspect that if I'd been ten years old I would have laughed a lot more.
How Much Fun I Had in the Theater, 2013
Rank. Order - Name. Date; Theater.
There are many ways to turn a four-blocker into a longer format. In this particular case the director (Isao Takahata, who directed the execrable Only Yesterday as well as the extremely well reviewed but unseen by me Grave of the Fireflies) opted to go with something approximating sketch comedy; each sequence is very short and barring the characters themselves is unrelated to the others. As per usual for the format, some of the bits were quite funny, and others were rather dull. I personally felt the dull ones outnumbered the funny ones by quite a bit. If you want you can even read every single vignette summation, because the internet loves you and wants you to be happy.
The Yamadas are a family of four (Mom/Dad/Son/Daughter), plus Grandma and a dog. Nothing particularly unrealistic happens in the film. Imagine if The Family Circus consistently graded out at C- instead of F and then was turned into a movie. That's about right. In other words, this is eminently skippable for all but Ghibli completists. I wasn't quite bored because the better vignettes were quite good, and I suspect that if I'd been ten years old I would have laughed a lot more.
How Much Fun I Had in the Theater, 2013
Rank. Order - Name. Date; Theater.
- #6 - Harvey. Sunday, January 27; Capitol Theater.
- #4 - True Romance. Sunday, January 20; Cleveland Cinematheque.
--- Above this Line, Awesomeness --- - #2 - Lincoln. Tuesday, January 8; Westlake Regal
- #5 - Django. Tuesday, January 22; Capitol Theater (Cleveland Cinematheque production)
- #8 - The Mercenary. Friday, February 8; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #10 - Chicken With Plums. Sunday, February 10; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #1 - The Well-Digger's Daughter. Sunday, January 6; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #11 - Whisper of the Heart. Sunday, February 10; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #12 - My Neighbors the Yamadas. Sunday, February 17; Cleveland Cinematheque.
--- Below This Line, I Was Bored --- - #9 - Lady in the Lake. Saturday, February 9; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #7 - Only Yesterday. Sunday, January 27; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #3 - 8 1/2. Sunday, January 13; Cleveland Cinematheque.