| Mimzy Makes Magic |
The Last Mimzydirected by Robert Shayestarring Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson, Chris O'Neil, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Michael Clarke Duncan mimzy.com   Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson autograph Mimzy dolls at an event  Kathryn Hahn and Rainn Wilson provide laughs as a trippy New Age couple  Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn face magical encounters Ten-year-old science enthusiast Noah and his five-year-old sister, Emma, encounter a set of futuristic objects along the Washington coast. One of these items, a stuffed rabbit named Mimzy, communicates in a cryptic language with Emma, while the other discovered instruments bestow upon Noah an elevated state of intellect. Later, we learn that these enigmatic objects come from the distant future and were sent to our time period to acquire a desperately needed resource. Returning home from their holiday, Emma soon develops telekinetic powers while her brother manages to manipulate nature with the construction of his highly advanced science fair project. It doesn’t take long before Noah and Emma’s parents grow suspicious and concerned, and soon a looming agent from the Department of Homeland Security (Michael Clarke Duncan) enters the picture. As the parents of these supernaturally gifted youngsters, Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson offer suitable performances as skeptical parents who slowly accept the surreal events enveloping the lives of their children. Yet it is the performances from Rainn Wilson and Kathryn Hahn, as Noah’s science teacher Larry and his girlfriend Naomi, that ultimately steal the show as a comical hippy couple who aid the children throughout their adventure. Helming this fantasy-themed narrative, Shaye, who also serves as the founder and CEO of New Line Cinema, correctly employs intelligent depth throughout while never underestimating the viewers. The director’s message is clear here, as these siblings and their parents have a muted television set running in every room, including the bathroom, while video games are frequently in use by the children. Although science fiction movies geared towards children often tend to simplify life matters, “The Last Mimzy” presents dramatic events in a similarly sophisticated manner as Stephen Spielberg’s “E.T.” Some scenes, however, cannot escape the obligatory sentimentality which pervades many family-themed films of this type, as evidenced by the conclusion and its overly optimistic envisioning of an advanced utopian future. Nevertheless, this film skillfully serves as a parable of society’s current state, as our reliance upon technology continues to be cultivated at unprecedented levels.
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