It's quite a challenge for a film to portray a character with mental or emotional problems and be entertaining, without disrespecting people who suffer from the same or similar problems. Filmmakers can choose to take the issue very seriously, like co-writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland did with Alzheimer's disease in 2014's "Still Alice" (with her performance in the title role winning Julianna Moore the Best Actress Oscar) or just play mental deficiencies for laughs, as the Farrelly brothers and their teams did with the "Dumb and Dumber" movies. Rarely will a filmmaker attempt to have it both ways, as writer-director Maya Forbes does with her semi-autobiographical comedy-drama "Infinitely Polar Bear" (R, 1:30) – and it's rarer still to meet the challenge with such skill.
Mark Ruffalo is Cameron and Zoe Saldana is Maggie, a married Rhode Island couple with two spunky daughters named Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) and Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky – Forbes' real-life daughter). Cameron suffers from bi-polar disorder. (His daughter's mispronunciation of his condition is the basis for the movie's title.) Cameron is a loving husband and father, and most of the time, with the help of his devoted wife, his condition is manageable. While she's at work and he takes care of Amelia and Faith, most of his misadventures come off as no more serious than the struggles Michael Keaton's character has in "Mr. Mom" (1983) or in any other similar movie or TV show. But that's not to say all this doesn't sometimes raise concerns. When Cameron has a breakdown, Maggie, worried for the safety of their daughters, takes the kids and leaves him. Cameron has to live in a half-way house as he recovers.
When Cameron is well enough to leave the half-way house, he takes an apartment on his own until Maggie is comfortable with the idea of him moving back in with the family. She doesn't know how long that will be, or if that day will ever come at all, but personal finances force her hand. Maggie feels that she has to do something to improve her family's situation. She decides to go to business school in New York City. She asks Cameron to move back in with the family and take care of the girls while she's away and she'll come home on weekends to check on things. Cameron is anxious to get his family back together, but he's also a different kind of anxious about being the girls' sole caregiver five days a week. To be honest, there's plenty of anxiety to go around in this situation, but this plan seems to be the best option for the family long-term and Amelia and Faith are old enough to more-or-less take care of themselves, so they all give this plan the old college try.
"Infinitely Polar Bear" is a small, but entertaining movie with a big message. Ruffalo and Saldana have an easy chemistry that is a joy to watch. They effortlessly cover the range of emotions that tell this story. The girls who play their daughters add a significant amount of spirited fun to the film. This movie is in the spirit of TV's "Modern Family". We see a mixed-race couple in non-traditional roles, kids with a lot of personality and real-life problems that are played for laughs, but also touch the heart. At times, however, the story seems to drag a bit and the amount of adult language used (often times around the girls) is unnecessary and disappointing for a movie with such a strong and otherwise family-friendly tone. Still, this film's sweetness, fun and positive messages carry the day. "B+"
Mark Ruffalo is Cameron and Zoe Saldana is Maggie, a married Rhode Island couple with two spunky daughters named Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) and Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky – Forbes' real-life daughter). Cameron suffers from bi-polar disorder. (His daughter's mispronunciation of his condition is the basis for the movie's title.) Cameron is a loving husband and father, and most of the time, with the help of his devoted wife, his condition is manageable. While she's at work and he takes care of Amelia and Faith, most of his misadventures come off as no more serious than the struggles Michael Keaton's character has in "Mr. Mom" (1983) or in any other similar movie or TV show. But that's not to say all this doesn't sometimes raise concerns. When Cameron has a breakdown, Maggie, worried for the safety of their daughters, takes the kids and leaves him. Cameron has to live in a half-way house as he recovers.
When Cameron is well enough to leave the half-way house, he takes an apartment on his own until Maggie is comfortable with the idea of him moving back in with the family. She doesn't know how long that will be, or if that day will ever come at all, but personal finances force her hand. Maggie feels that she has to do something to improve her family's situation. She decides to go to business school in New York City. She asks Cameron to move back in with the family and take care of the girls while she's away and she'll come home on weekends to check on things. Cameron is anxious to get his family back together, but he's also a different kind of anxious about being the girls' sole caregiver five days a week. To be honest, there's plenty of anxiety to go around in this situation, but this plan seems to be the best option for the family long-term and Amelia and Faith are old enough to more-or-less take care of themselves, so they all give this plan the old college try.
"Infinitely Polar Bear" is a small, but entertaining movie with a big message. Ruffalo and Saldana have an easy chemistry that is a joy to watch. They effortlessly cover the range of emotions that tell this story. The girls who play their daughters add a significant amount of spirited fun to the film. This movie is in the spirit of TV's "Modern Family". We see a mixed-race couple in non-traditional roles, kids with a lot of personality and real-life problems that are played for laughs, but also touch the heart. At times, however, the story seems to drag a bit and the amount of adult language used (often times around the girls) is unnecessary and disappointing for a movie with such a strong and otherwise family-friendly tone. Still, this film's sweetness, fun and positive messages carry the day. "B+"