Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021)


IMDb plot summary: A young humanoid alligator travels to the big city in hopes of reuniting with his estranged father, meeting a colorful cast of characters along the way.
Directed by Ryan Crego. Starring Michael J. Woodard, Mary Lambert, and Tony Hale.

This is such a strange vibe, and it's definitely one that, if it clicks with you, will be consistent throughout. It never did fully click with me -- I could never quite grasp the rules of the world and how it felt about animal people or outcasts in general. The music is also, with one or two exceptions, the sort of droning electropop that is extremely popular currently and, at the risk of sounding like a grumpy old woman, I find its deliberately non-emotive style to be the opposite of everything I love in musicals. The characters' energy goes down every time they sing, which is a bummer, and often grinds the whole story to a halt. The soundtrack probably works fine on its own but I don't like them as supplementals to a narrative. There are definitely some good bits here, but overall this isn't my style.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Arlo the Alligator Boy < Sunday in the Park With George
Arlo the Alligator Boy > Dinner at Eight
Arlo the Alligator Boy < The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Arlo the Alligator Boy < Kiki's Delivery Service
Arlo the Alligator Boy > Checking Out
Arlo the Alligator Boy > The Fifth Element
Arlo the Alligator Boy < Marvin's Room
Arlo the Alligator Boy > 12 Days of Terror
Arlo the Alligator Boy < SpaceCamp
Arlo the Alligator Boy > The Deadly Affair
Arlo the Alligator Boy > Lovelace
Final spot: #2445 out of 3505, or 30%.

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