Remarkably Bright Creatures

I'll use this section to talk a little more deeply about my criticisms and how it still got me.

There's an octopus named Marcellus that Field's character Tova befriends because she cleans at an aquarium. Then Pullman's character Cameron ends up in the same town while looking for his dad, who left him and his now deceased mother. Bunch of stuff happens, Cameron and Tova become friends themselves, typical stuff. Completely fine. Field and Pullman both put in excellent work and are likely the main reason this works.

All the while Marcellus is trying to help them and also get back to the ocean. He monologues about humans and some of it is interesting, but yes, it's really silly. I don't mind because I'm an animal guy but this is what makes the movie stand out, for better or worse.

You know Tova, Marcellus and Cameron will all basically save each other. Tova tells Marcellus at one point that he saved her, which I jive with because my bunny saved me. I get it. So this is all predictable but done well enough.

Where this movie gets way too convenient is in how the mystery unravels. Here's what we find out: Tova's dead son Eric is actually Cameron's father, and the guy Cameron was searching for was just his mother's gay best friend. So now Tova has a grandson and Cameron has a grandmother, making their friendship deeper. And Marcellus was the one who discovered this for them because he risked his life to get a ring that had the initials EELS on it (which are Eric's initials). Then of course we find a box of treasures in a floor that confirms it.

Honestly, I can understand if that's just too much for people. Even I'm like, "You didn't really need this," but the characters are likable and performed well enough that I was still glad they found each other. But damn, that's some hokey shit. I think I've gotten even softer as I've gotten older but I think even if I were younger it would have gotten me though.