Movie Review - Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Hunt for the Wilderpeople **** (out of 5) (PG-13) With his fourth feature film, writer/director Taika Waititi is becoming a major player, not only in his native New Zealand, but globally. His last film, What We Do in the Shadows, was an edgy comedy about a group of vampire slackers, hiding by day, romping by night, and sharing a pigsty of a house that would be too gross for TV reality-show consideration, even with their little quirks and conflicts seeming quite analogous to those of lazy young dudes anywhere.

This time he plies deeper waters. Ricky, A fat, surly teen from the city (Julian Dennison) is reluctantly delivered to a backwoods couple (Sam Neill, Rima Te Wiata) as his last chance for placement with a foster family. It’s also their only shot at becoming parents. Actually, it’s the wife’s idea; hubby is clearly not on board. His gruffness towards the boy matches the lad’s indifference to them, and disdain for his new surroundings. If this fails, Ricky winds up in an institution, which almost seems preferable to boredom in the boonies.

Te Wiata is as warm and accepting as Neill’s “Uncle Hec” is distant, just starting to win the boy over when she’s suddenly and sadly removed from the equation. The zealous social services woman who placed Ricky is ready to take him back, since the agency finds Neill alone unsuitable. He agrees. But Ricky escapes to the woods, ready to become another Grizzly Adams, though completely lacking in skills or equipment. Uncle Hec tracks him down, but gets injured, preventing their return to, or communication with, civilization for a few weeks. The two are forced to start fending for themselves.

When they finally reach other humans, a huge misunderstanding turns the search into a criminal manhunt and major media event. The social worker pursues the pair with the zeal of Lt. Gerard after Dr. Richard Kimble, with comparable degrees of bad judgement about the situation. Some they meet on the run are sympathetic and helpful; others want the reward, or think they’re saving Ricky from a crazed captor.

The comedy comes largely from the array of colorful characters they meet, and the escalation of frenzy in the scale of the search and the media coverage. The heart of the film lies in the bond the two eventually form in fits and starts, all building to a wildly over-the-top climactic sequence. As far-fetched as the premise and its execution seem from these words, the cast makes it work in fine fashion. Though less comical overall, it evokes comparison to a favored, underappreciated Australian family comedy, The Castle, in winning viewers over from negative first impressions to root for the players and love sharing their journey in bucking “the system”. The scenery is stunning, helping this one rank as an unlikely gem, as well. (7/22/16)