Such is the case with Disney these past few years: their best films are usually relegated to the nether of their streaming services, and their most egregious, contemptuous pieces of “content” are suffocating movie theaters. Here’s another example of this, with Shawn Simmons’ directorial debut, Eenie Meanie, dumped on Hulu (or Disney+, if you live internationally) with little to no fanfare and marketing pull, while the (bad) Fantastic Four: First Steps invaded a thousand screens in our local cinemas, 2D, 3D, DBOX, 4DX, AVX, IMAX, IMAX 3D, you name it.
In a way, this is detrimental to the future of mid-budget entertainment, as Hollywood is now relying solely on tentpoles to attract audiences to the big screen, with little in between. Yet, when the tentpoles themselves do nothing to move the needle, what happens then? It’s a question that few studio executives are willing to answer because it would likely force them to perhaps reckon with the idea that this strategy isn’t working and that a healthy moviegoing landscape contains both big and small-budget fare in the cinema, while streaming acts as a complementary service for consumers.
There must be some balance to be regained on the big screen before efforts are focused on developing films for the small screen. This weekend, KPop Demon Hunters, a Netflix film, is set to be the #1 movie at the box office, despite being widely available to watch at home since late June. Are the tides turning in favor of the movie theater? Who knows, but resident idiot Ted Sarandos has certainly proven wrong yet again that cinemas aren’t at all an “outdated model,” or whatever he said before Sinners broke box office records.
Discussion
In the case of Eenie Meanie, Simmons, best known from the shows Wayne and The Continental: From the World of John Wick, has crafted an efficient heist film that seems poised for the big screen, especially when staging a bravura car chase between the movie’s protagonist, Edie Meaney (Samara Weaving), and a group of police officers who attempt to catch her from stealing a vehicle filled with $3 million in cash. What’s most impressive here is how Simmons effectively balances tones within the action, whether the slapstick of its first half, as Edie tries to get out of the casino inside a car, creating a bevy of gravity-defying catharsis, or in its more dramatic second half, once driver Perm Walters (Marshawn Lynch) arrives hot in pursuit of Edie to take the cash for himself.
It leads into a climactic conclusion that’s surprisingly powerful in its dramatic heft, especially after building a solid rapport between Edie and her ex-boyfriend, John (Karl Glusman). You see, Edie has been trying to move away from the life of crime she was sadly raised in by her now remorseful father (Steve Zahn, profoundly moving in his limited screentime) and mentor Nico (Andy Garcia). However, after finding out she is pregnant with John’s child, she returns to his world and sees him being held at gunpoint, and is now stuck in a situation that will ultimately require her to steal that $3 million cash if John wants to get back on Nico’s good graces.
Edie’s Dynamics with Others
For a while, this dynamic between the two, while chaotic, is incredibly entertaining, with Weaving being the biggest standout. I’ll admit that I’m not as high on her acting skills as some other people are, especially in recent memory. However, she steals the show in every ounce of Eenie Meanie, especially when drawing some of the protagonist’s most complex feelings, whether in the reunion with her father, which signals their relationship has reached a point of no return, or in making a difficult decision that could permanently alter her forever, in saving both John and herself. The best scenes of the movie are those in which she has a heart-to-heart with her parental figures, beautifully portrayed by Zahn and Garcia, who showcase their vulnerabilities in ways that have never been captured on screen before.
The two have had a profound impact on Edie’s life and have shaped the woman she has become, for better or worse. Knowing what she has to do to get out of this predicament is all the more heartbreaking when you realize there will be no happy ending to the cycle of violence she’s in, unless she breaks it entirely. The choice she has to make is heartbreaking, though the coda that comes afterwards is complete nonsense. Credit where credit is due, Simmons knows how to balance different tonal registers within action setpieces, but not so much in moments where we peer into the protagonist’s intimacy.
It makes some of the narrative choices particularly baffling as it attempts to pull our heartstrings in ways that don’t earn our tears, which ends what was an otherwise enjoyable Eenie Meanie on a relatively sour note.
Final Thoughts on Eenie Meanie
Still, as far as Disney releases go this year, it’s one of their best, and a movie that didn’t deserve to be relegated to their streaming library. The casino chase alone is made for a screen much larger than your television. Perhaps the success of Freakier Friday will encourage the studio to pump out more mid-budget fare in cinemas, but for now, the landscape on the big screen couldn’t be more grim…
Rating: 3.5/5
Eenie Meanie is now streaming via Hulu!
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