Who's in It: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Loren Horsley
The Basics: Two absolute weirdos fall in love, only to see that romance tested by an obsessive need for revenge on the part of the guy. He's the eagle, by the way. The shark is the woman. Plinky-plonky faux-innocent indie music provides a "how-to-feel" backdrop.
What's the Deal: It's not that I don't like twee. I watched every single episode of Gilmore Girls for seven whole years. I have a high tolerance for that sort of thing. But what I'm increasingly less down for is the kind of superfreak-as-hero who seems more developmentally disabled than simply adorably outsiderish, the kind you laugh at instead of with. I will give it the benefit of the doubt and assume the movie isn't attacking its own characters and maybe everyone's line in the sand is different, but this one just about crossed mine.
Better Movies About People Like This: No, not Napoleon Dynamite (although you'd be forgiven for associating that one with this). I mean, the movies of Mike White (Chuck and Buck, Year of the Dog), where the outsiders aren't cute and powerless. Instead they're allowed to be dark and, at times, off-putting and cruel.
Moment I Enjoyed Even Though the Movie's Not That Good: A costume-party scene where everyone is dressed as animals and a ruthlessly violent video-game contest transpires. It's got a Wes Anderson feel that disappears from the movie as soon as the scene ends.
Other Moment to Like: Animated apple cores that walk and hop onto stray flip-flops for trips down a river, accompanied by a nice Devendra Banhart song. The thrown-out rotten fruit = the couple in love, obviously.