Brave New Jersey (2016)

Brave New Jersey: Directed by Jody Lambert. With Tony Hale, Anna Camp, Sam Jaeger, Evan Jonigkeit. A comedy about a small New Jersey town on the night of Orson Welles’ legendary 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast, which led millions of listeners to believe the U.S. was being invaded by Martians.

“This is a cute, earnest movie, which is both its biggest draw and worst problem.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis movie is a period piece, centering around a sleepy little town and their reactions to Orson Welles historic u0026quot;War of the Worldsu0026quot; broadcast — as the story goes, this broadcast was interpreted by some as a real attack from outer space. And so, the movie has its premise, as this farming community is thrown in to chaos on Halloween night, believing they are about to be invaded by martians.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Brave New Jerseyu0026quot; is cartoonish in its depiction of 1938 rural America. These donu0026#39;t feel like people, and they donu0026#39;t even feel like characters. The interpretations are modern enough, but most of them feel like theyu0026#39;re templates being pulled from a book of u0026quot;small townu0026quot; archetypes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA preacher experiencing a lapse in faith. A burned out war hero trying to recapture former glory. An overweight, inept sheriff. A soft spoken protagonist who canu0026#39;t find the words when it comes to the woman he loves. She herself is trapped in a marriage with a man that clearly doesnu0026#39;t care about her as anything other than a trophy. And so on. These people were given one note to play, and they play it loud and hard. You know whatu0026#39;s going to happen to them the moment they finish their first sentence.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThough the movie is billed as something of a comedy, this simple characterization isnu0026#39;t the joke. The joke is, u0026quot;isnu0026#39;t it silly people really believed this was happening to them?u0026quot; Thereu0026#39;s a real story here, these people truly believe theyu0026#39;re about to die, and it has a message behind that idea, but it feels really cutesy and trite. The drama feels cut short by the silly vibe, and the silly vibe doesnu0026#39;t really land because itu0026#39;s still trying to have legitimate drama. At times, when the two halves clash the hardest, it can be legitimately difficult to watch. Itu0026#39;s oil and water.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBetween those moments, the movie just feels kind of dopey, and saccharine, and occasionally even a little anachronistic. Nobody acts like this, and nobody ever acted like this. Any of the good vibes this movie tries to trade in are completely lost on me because it canu0026#39;t decide what it really wants.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCannot recommend.”