The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)

Written/Directed by Lee Kirk
Starring Chris Messina, Jenna Fischer and Topher Grace
Runtime 90min. - Rated PG-13
3 Stars (out of 4)

In conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival, "The Giant Mechanical Man" has gotten a pre-theatrical V.O.D release. Links are available below the review.

"The Giant Mechanical Man" follows in the footsteps of the great sci-fi films of the past. Its chief influences are "Artificial Intelligence" and "Bicentennial Man". Jenna Fischer meets a tall android and they fall in love. They attempt to have children, but she gives birth to roombas.

Some people only read the first paragraph of a review before making a decision. This review is dedicated to those fine folks.



In actuality, this film is a simple, sweet romantic comedy. It's not groundbreaking material, but it's an admirable and sincere effort. According to the IMDB, this is Lee Kirk's directorial debut. I guarantee it won't be the last time he's in the director's chair. Having also written the film, it's obvious he understands and respects the characters. This allows him to pace the film accordingly. The plot could have easily gotten slow and tedious, but Kirk spends him time wisely. He chooses to stay focused on character motivation rather than getting bogged down in the details.

So why is it called "The Giant Mechanical Man"? Because the romantic lead, Tim(Messina), spends his free time covered in silver make-up. He also has a silver suit with extra long pants to cover his stilts. I know what you're thinking, but it's not some weird sexual fetish. Tim is a street performer. He stands completely still for long periods of time until someone tosses some change into his briefcase. With every donation Tim breaks his still pose to perform any number of robotic looking actions. It's not just a gig for Tim, he sees it as art. He's hurt deeply when people don't feel the same.

Janice's(Fischer) opening scene bothered me a little. She's late to a temp job where her duty is to stand in front of a door. It's a door that leads to a totally empty room, but because it's in a museum it has a guard. What bothers me is the way her temp employer behaves. He's totally unsympathetic with Janice and brings up her tardiness repeatedly. In the real world, ridiculously beautiful women just don't get treated like that. Especially the girl-next-door types who unknowingly evoke a heightened level of sensitivity. Evolution has hardwired men to be sympathetic to women like that. I know that's a controversial stance, but I've seen it over and over. I'm an ugly guy, I don't get that sort of sympathy.

The fact that Janice is working a temp job shows that she's struggling financially. The situation is exacerbated in the next scene when she loses her full-time job. The boss says that her coworkers complain, and that she's just not personable enough. Again, I don't think a male office manager would fire a gorgeous woman for not being personable. This is fiction however, so she's fired. Pretty soon she's being evicted and moving in with her sister.

Meanwhile Tim is having financial struggles of his own. His girlfriend is the main bread-winner and she's just dumped him. It turns out that dressing up like an idiot doesn't pay that good. Searching the classifieds, Tim finds a job opening at a local zoo. Tim seemingly applies, interviews and is hired all in the same day. I guess he was the only applicant. That's probably not a fair depiction of our current job climate, but I'll let it slide.

Janice needs a job too. Shockingly, she finds the same classified ad and gets a job at the same zoo. Tim is hired as a janitor, while Janice's job is to sell little plastic gorillas filled with grape juice. Would it be a spoiler if I told you these two have a romantic connection? Then consider it spoiled. Tim and Janice don't buy the zoo and live there, but I thought I saw Matt Damon in the background.

As an aside, Chris Messina has obviously never been a janitor. This is most evident when he's mopping the floor from front to back. Real janitors never do that because you would be stepping on the area you just mopped. I'm not saying he should have job shadowed a janitor for a year, but I can't believe no one on set noticed this egregious error.

There's a subplot involving an egocentric author named Doug Duncan. He writes self-help books on a variety of topics, though he's really not qualified in his chosen areas. Duncan is played with enthusiasm by Topher Grace. It's the perfect role for him. I think he fits into the annoying, nerdy role, but is totally unbelievable as an action-oriented character. I got a little sick to my stomach when Topher was cast as Eddie Brock for "Spiderman 3".

Doug Duncan isn't a very important character, but he provides a frame of reference for the story. When you dig below the surface, this story is about two people who encourage each other to break through social boundaries. That boundary is represented by Duncan, who is the safe romantic choice for Janice. Her sister insists that the two of them are "perfect for each other". Janice sees things differently.

I really liked this film. Surprisingly, it's not gimmicky at all. Especially when you consider it has a character who dresses up like a 10ft. tall robot. So many romantic comedies rely on blatant gimmicks to sucker in viewers, this one relies on the strength of its script and actors. The comedy is subtle, not forced. There aren't any obvious gags or physical humor. The characters have a lot of warmth, which allows the laughs to happen naturally. This is a date night movie that will show your special someone that you have sensitivity, intelligence, and good taste in films.

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