Some call this horror. Eh. Sure, there are horror elements and if this is a horror, so is the inspired 1980's Heathers.
If this had been made in the year it's set (1989,) surely Tim Burton would've directed Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp as the leads and Jennifer Connelly as the costar/sister role. This has all of them written all-over-it.
Also, I was alive and coming of age during 1989. THIS was more like 1985 or even earlier 80s. By 1989, we were at the edge of the grunge period. These styles/clothes/attitudes definitely early 80s. But I digress. That's not the real issue here.
The title is. It's Frankenstein...light. Like very, very adjacent. That said, I guess in a world that Twilight exists and that's so far removed from vampires, I suppose we can use one or two elements of the Frankenstein story for this dark romcom.
Lisa is misunderstood and maybe more intense than most give her credit for. When she falls for a long-since deceased young male around her age, luck is on her side when lightning awakens him from his slumber. Will he fall for her and if so, who will pay the price?
All I had to see in the opening credits was that Diablo "Juno" Cody wrote this to know what I was getting myself into. To her credit, she has an extreme style that is unmistakable. I happen to like her writing, but here...
Well, it's not bad. It's just...there. I laughed some, but not a lot. I did like the chemistry between the leads and even though the 80s feel was way too much like The Goldbergs and practically every other 80s nostalgia over the past decade plus, I didn't mind it. I don't think, by this point, it's at all original or groundbreaking. But it is watchable.
It might need a second viewing to rise above the mediocre 5/10 stars I gave it. Unfortunately, I really don't have that much of an urge to revisit this. I just wish this would've been made in 1989. It may have been perfect back then and an instant classic.
Especially with the cast I pointed out.
***
Final Thoughts: In my fantasy theory above for who would've started in the 1989 version of this, I would also suspect Winona Ryder would've auditioned for the lead, or sister part and be turned down. Not to worry, though. Burton would've made up for this oversight by casting her with Depp in the similar Edward Scissorhands the year after.
If this had been made in the year it's set (1989,) surely Tim Burton would've directed Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp as the leads and Jennifer Connelly as the costar/sister role. This has all of them written all-over-it.
Also, I was alive and coming of age during 1989. THIS was more like 1985 or even earlier 80s. By 1989, we were at the edge of the grunge period. These styles/clothes/attitudes definitely early 80s. But I digress. That's not the real issue here.
The title is. It's Frankenstein...light. Like very, very adjacent. That said, I guess in a world that Twilight exists and that's so far removed from vampires, I suppose we can use one or two elements of the Frankenstein story for this dark romcom.
Lisa is misunderstood and maybe more intense than most give her credit for. When she falls for a long-since deceased young male around her age, luck is on her side when lightning awakens him from his slumber. Will he fall for her and if so, who will pay the price?
All I had to see in the opening credits was that Diablo "Juno" Cody wrote this to know what I was getting myself into. To her credit, she has an extreme style that is unmistakable. I happen to like her writing, but here...
Well, it's not bad. It's just...there. I laughed some, but not a lot. I did like the chemistry between the leads and even though the 80s feel was way too much like The Goldbergs and practically every other 80s nostalgia over the past decade plus, I didn't mind it. I don't think, by this point, it's at all original or groundbreaking. But it is watchable.
It might need a second viewing to rise above the mediocre 5/10 stars I gave it. Unfortunately, I really don't have that much of an urge to revisit this. I just wish this would've been made in 1989. It may have been perfect back then and an instant classic.
Especially with the cast I pointed out.
***
Final Thoughts: In my fantasy theory above for who would've started in the 1989 version of this, I would also suspect Winona Ryder would've auditioned for the lead, or sister part and be turned down. Not to worry, though. Burton would've made up for this oversight by casting her with Depp in the similar Edward Scissorhands the year after.