Review by Patrick Hodges

Sometimes you just have to go with it.

There are movies that are defined by how grounded in reality they are.  So naturally, there are plenty at the other end of the spectrum, where the premise and/or plot is just so blatantly ridiculous, you just have to swallow your disbelief and go with it.  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is definitely such a movie.

And it’s a good thing this is a cartoon, too, because there is no way this would have worked as a live-action film.  To do so would have been sheer folly, and it would have had as unhappy a reaction as Robert Rodriguez’s recent flop, Shorts.  But as an animated film, it not only works, it excels.  There are no limits to the incredulity of it all, and to bring it to life in glorious 3-D makes it even better.

On the tiny island of Swallow Falls, times are tough.  The island’s main source of revenue – sardines – has dried up, and the population have naught too eat but the smelly fish.  So when an enterprising young inventor named Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) a machine that turns water into food – literally, any kind of food you can think of – and launches it into the stratosphere, it creates a veritable food storm.  I mean, hamburgers falling from the sky?  How cool is that?

Having atoned for all his past failures in one fell swoop, the young Flint is seen as a savior. But apart from all the wackiness and hoopla is actually quite an endearing story, as Flint attempts to win the heart of a visiting cable weather-channel reporter (Anna Faris) while trying simultaneously to bridge the gap that has existed between himself and his old-school father (James Caan) since his mother died.

Look, I won’t lie:  this movie is primarily for kids.  But there is plenty for adults to enjoy too, starting with the absolutely incredible animation.  Sony Pictures Animation, who had underwhelmed in the past with Monster House and Open Season, are starting to look like they are just one or two big hits away from being able to take on the big boys like DreamWorks and Pixar.  They’re not there yet, but Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is definitely a step in the right direction.

Sweet, cute, funny as hell, and marvelous to look at.  Yes, of course, it’s zany, it’s silly, it’s absolutely ridiculous.  But that’s the beauty of it:  it never hides that fact from you.  In fact, it delights in it.  So just go with it.  You’ll like it.