When I saw the first trailer for The Odd Life of Timothy Green, I was really on the fence with my interest level in going to actually see this movie. To me I got the initial feeling that this was a Disney movie with the typical Schmaltzy type feel that happens throughout the entire film. The plot device is quite interesting and original, something you don't see too often any more with all the sequels and prequels and spin offs. We end up getting the story of two parents played by Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, who after receiving bad news from a fertility doctor try to move on from not being able to have kids by burying all of the great traits that their child would have had. They awake to find a child named Timothy in their kitchen, and thrusts them immediately into being parents. While Timothy has his own secret, aside from the leaves growing from his ankles. He teaches the Green's more about parenting and raising a child then they could have imagined and is really a movie that has those moments that can really touch audiences as they can relate to different things that happen onscreen within their own lives.
Joel Edgerton does a decent job in the role of Jim Green, but I would have really preferred to have seen more out of his character in the end. While he gives great emotion and really connects to the audience I wanted to see more out of his character and for him to give some depth in understanding a little more why his relationship is the way it is with his dad. Jennifer Garner int eh role of Cindy Green I felt was a little lacking as well. The chemistry between Garner and Edgerton was just off and I found that there moments of connection were off and on throughout the movie and it really threw things off. CJ Adams really outshone Garner and Edgerton as Timothy. Even though his character of Timothy is one that other kids growing up would consider to be weird and awkward he is very likable to the audience. He definitely showed he has promise as an actor so it is intriguing for me to watch and see if Adams has the ability to be more then just a child actor or if he ends up being a child actor that just disappears as he gets older.
The story for The Odd Life of Timothy Green was definitely unique and although it was not a perfect story or plot it worked alright for a Disney movie. The development of the plot involves all the good qualities that they imagined their son would have—though he is different and even odd. He befriends a girl who is self-conscious because she has a birthmark, he changes Jim's intimidating father, he shows his musical talent by beating a rhythm on a coconut shell, he ends up scoring the winning goal(albeit different then what one would imagine) and he frequently throws out his arms with his face to the sun. And, always the leaves, both on his legs and on the trees are part of the story. While all of these plot points move forward and are interconnected fairly well throughout, I think the movie could have definitely benefited from an additional 20-30 minutes, giving more depth to the characters. To go along with the plot points we get a range of emotional issues such as father/son relationships, sibling rivalry (Cindy and her sister Brenda Best—her name is appropriate), bullying, competition, love and sadness. With all of these emotional issues I would have loved to seen smaller number of emotional issues and instead given us a deeper scope into a few of these emotional issues.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an alright movie and while my wife really enjoyed it, for me it was not exactly my cup of tea. I want my movies to give me those feelings of happiness and while the Odd Life had those moments it had some sad moments which I felt were not necessary to what the story was actually needed. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in what Edgerton and Garner brought to the table when in the end they could have brought more to their characters I felt. The movie though really was carried by the young CJ Adams and while he was not perfect in his role he really did a strong job carrying the movie. The story was unique and unexpected which is nice when remakes and sequels seem to be the biggest things that Hollywood is making currently. While this was not exactly my typical type of movie I am giving The Odd Life of Timothy Green two and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. While I may not recommend this to be one that you have to see in the theater, it is one that will be worth renting.
-The Movie Man
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