Former child star Jodie Foster (Little Girl…Lane) teams up with
present day child star Abigail Breslin (Signs) for Nim’s Island, a children’s film about
a young girl named Nim (Breslin) who lives in a South Pacific island paradise
with her marine biologist father (Gerald Butler), who’s a widower. Dad’s always
on the hunt to discover the latest single cell organism, which he promises to
name after Nim. He goes off in their yacht on his latest scientific expedition,
leaving Nim behind because she has to care for some baby turtles. But when dad
becomes caught in a storm, damaging his boat and stranding him all alone on the
ocean, Nim is left alone to fend for herself on the island.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, because Nim is so adept to living on the
island that she’s practically a mini-jungle girl. But she’s got even bigger
problems when a boatload of tourists invade her turf. They think the place is
deserted, and set up a Club Med type deal right on the beach. When Nim receives
an email from her favorite author Alex Rover (Foster), who’s looking for
research on volcanoes, Nim asks the hulking, manly adventurer for his help. The
only problem is Alex Rover isn’t who she thinks he is; in fact, he’s not even a
man--instead, Alexandra Rover is a timid, agoraphobic woman who’s afraid of
leaving her cozy little apartment.
This sort of film--a kid’s film--isn’t usually my bag, but I watched it just
because of the presence of Foster, who’s one of my favorite actresses. Therefore,
it pains me to say that Foster is very badly miscast here as the nervous-Nellie
writer, Alex. Her performance never quite clicks, nor feels right--and I can’t
help but wonder if that’s because she’s lost amidst the sugary and overly sappy
tone of the movie. The film’s sense of humor is also very broad and so over the
top that it feels outright ridiculous at times. I know it’s supposed to be a
whimsical fantasy, with cute little animals that help Nim in her efforts to
fight off the ugly vacationers, but the movie just falls flat--thanks to the
unimaginative direction, which has both Foster and young Breslin looking lost at
times.
Butler gives the film’s best performance as the imaginary adventurer character
of Alex Rover, whom only the real Alex sees and interacts with. Yet, because
he’s just an imaginary character, Butler isn’t given much to do but constantly
goad the real Alex into action. Butler also plays the dual role of Nim’s father
in the "real" world, and he’s just as bland as the rest of the characters in the
film. The true mark of a bad movie is that you’re so bored by it that you can’t
wait for it to be over, and that was what I felt while watching Nim’s Island.
Despite the fact that it’s 90 minutes long, I still had to "help" it along by
fast-forwarding. Unless you're a small child (who might like this), then do
yourself a favor and avoid taking the trip to Nim’s Island. --SF
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