Eenie Meanie

The movie I watched before this was Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, a wild ride of a movie that never stopped hitting me with crazy. Eenie Meanie, by contrast, is far more straight-forward in presentation. It is a one-last-job heist movie, and it doesn't hide this at all. Hell, the blurb on Hulu pretty much says that, so if you come in expecting anything else, that's on you. But what Eenie Meanie has that elevates it beyond its humble roots is the heart, its exploration of morality and the weight of responsibility to one another, forgiveness, and maturity. It's not a deep, rich, exceptionally nuanced take on it, but for the format of the movie and the stakes at play within, it's done well. I don't want to spoil it, because I actually found the emotional content and the exploration of its themes to be excellent within the context of the film, and worked best as a surprise. Suffice to say that main character Edie's reasons for doing what she does comes from a place of well-meaning responsibility, but also understandable guilt and lingering emotional attachment. Edie's journey through the events of the movie and her self-discovery is kept grounded thanks to the performance of the criminally underrated Samara Weaving. She brings a humanity and a realism to Edie. I could relate to the choices she makes; I know some of them will end up bad, but they're made in a moment of emotional turmoil, thinking with the heart instead of the head. We've all been there. We've all done it. But if you don't want to focus on the emotional core of Eenie Meanie, there's also some well-placed comedy that feels organic, and awesome action. The car chases are phenomenal, and buoyed by editing and direction that wants to let them do what they do. There's no Taken-style 15-cuts-in-6-seconds nonsense. The film lets the action do its thing and wow you by just being staged well. This is not the kind of movie you should come into expecting it to break genre conventions. Though it does have a stronger-than-expected emotional component, it by no means is breaking new ground in what it explores. It's only the context that feels different. But not every movie needs to break new ground. Roger Ebert subscribed to the idea that the only movie one should be judged against was a similar kind movie, so the question could be asked: is this movie the best version of what it represents? You can't tell if Toy Story is a good family movie by comparing it against Basic Instinct, but you can by comparing it to Shark Tale. Eenie Meanie, in comparison to other heist movies, may not break ground, but it does its genre exceptionally well. Possibly better than most. I'd say it has more to offer than The Italian Job or any Ocean's movie after the original.