Quirky is a dominant trait in the gene pool of indie comedy films. Natural Selection has no lack of quirky. While I rather enjoyed the odd couple pairing of Rachael Harris and Matt O’Leary I found the film dips a tad too far into unnecessarily exaggerated depictions of its Christians characters. The goofy religious targets just feels too easy. I am not defending the eccentricities of the devout, surely they are ripe for comedic fodder. However, the actual care that is expressed for the two leads does not extend to subsequent characters. To be laughed at is the only role of the faithful. I find that rather trite.
Exorcise the overblown, cartoonish depictions of the religious side-characters and you’d have a funny, sometimes touching portrait of two miss matched characters discovering each other and themselves. It’s nothing new in the world of indie comedies, but it is well told, minus a few wrong turns. Still, Harris and O’Leary with their one-on-one comedic scenes make up for any minor quibbles I had with the film.
Spoilers after the image.
A Descendent of Raising Arizona?
Spoilers, perhaps?:
Sometimes a quirky comedy can be too well written, like when all the quirks neatly connect. The real oddity of our world lies in the fact that we can’t figure out how all the dots connect. So, when a woman who can’t get pregnant hooks up with a guy who warns us that he’s all too fertile, the twist at the ending should come as no surprise.
One more note: all films after The 400 Blows should avoid having characters escaping to large bodies of water.
