I am nothing if not a film snob. The person who knows this best is my boyfriend, who hasn’t gotten to choose what we watch on Netflix since he met me. He is truly a better person for it; I open his mind to a whole new world (a new fantastic point of view) of art and cinema. For example, I drug him to The Square, the latest film from one of my favourite Swedish directors, Ruben Östlund. He loved it, but probably would’ve gone to see Justice League or something else equally banal and awful if it hadn’t been for my cinematic guidance. (Richard Lawson wrote one of the most savage reviews for the above mentioned atrocity to the world of movies and it is so worth a read.)
All of this snobbishness aside, I am here to talk about perhaps the greatest film of our time, maybe in the entire history of cinema. I am not referring to Casablanca, or Moonlight, or Spotlight, although they are all excellent. I am also not referring to Call Me By Your Name, although I could go on and on about what a masterpiece it is. And how much of a snack Armie Hammer is in short-shorts.
The greatest film ever created is obviously Paddington 2. Now let me break this down for you.
I cannot remember a time when I had so much fun at a movie; I truly experienced euphoric and unbridled joy in such massive amounts I felt like the Grinch when his heart expands back to its normal size. The first Paddington film was really great; Nicole Kidman had on a ridiculous wig and tons of sassy safari get-ups, Sally Hawkins invited a strange animal into her home, as she is wont to do, Hugh Bonneville was in drag, and Paddington himself ate tons of marmalade sandwiches, which made me crave the substance for the first time in my entire life. However, Paddington does not hold a torch to the magnum opus that is its sequel.
If you haven’t had the books read to you when you were a 4-year-old, or haven’t seen the first film, the general gist of “Why can this bear talk and why is he British?” is thus: An English explorer was in the Amazon and discovered these bears, so he taught them his way of life, including speaking and marmalade. Paddington’s parents were killed, so he was raised by some bears that found him being washed down the river, whom he refers to as Uncle Pastuzo and Aunt Lucy. Paddington decides to leave after his *spoiler* Uncle is killed in an earthquake. He heads to London and the Brown family takes him in and he gets into all sorts of hi-jinx. Obviously he makes it out of the first film alive, despite said hi-jinx involving Nicole Kidman’s chic, blonde-bobbed taxidermist.
The second film finds Paddington in search of a gift for his Aunt Lucy’s 100th birthday. He settles on this incredible pop-up book of famous London landmarks; she was never able to make it to London so he thought he could bring it to her in the form of this book. I am already crying by this point. The sequence wherein they place Paddington and his aunt within the pages of the book is glorious and stunning. Which brings me to my first point… all the visuals in this film are amazing. A kids movies doesn’t even have to be good, let alone look good. This whole movie is a delicious confection that called to mind some influences from Wes Anderson films and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
The hi-jinx of this film really settle in when the book is stolen from the antique shop it was being kept. Paddington valiantly chases the thief, but is arrested and incarcerated. Half of the movie finds Paddington in jail, trying to make the most of his situation, while the Brown family attempts to catch the thief and clear Paddington’s good name.
That is where I will leave the plot for now so as not to ruin any of the fun, but let’s get into the real star and hero of this film and my life… Hugh Grant.
Anyone who has read several or so articles of mine would no doubt have come across some of the glowing things I have said about Mr. Grant in the past. He is one of our greatest natural resources, and we must respect and treasure him for years to come. His performance in this movie could end climate change, solve world hunger, and fix the entire global economy. I want Hugh Grant representing us at UN council meetings. I want Hugh Grant to represent us at the 2018 Winter Olympics. I want Hugh Grant to be in charge of everything.
In Paddington 2, he plays a washed-up actor who is trying to regain seriousness after losing fame and being relegated to doing dog food commercials. His house is adorned with hundreds of old head-shots of himself and he has a creepy attic filled with his old costumes, where he has full conversations with himself using various famous character voices. It is incredible.
And now take this moment to take in the perfection that are Hugh Grant’s costumes in Paddington 2:
Let us also take a look at the entire supporting cast of this film, which a treasure trove of fantastic actors:
This cast is stacked with wondrous British names! We are not worthy of such a cast!
This movie is charming, funny, sincere, thrilling, beautiful, open, honest, lovely… perfect. The film’s repeated mantra, “If you are kind and polite, the world will be right,” seems like the exact thing we all need to be living our lives by in this present moment. This movie was such a joyous escape, and I wish I could live within its comforting embrace of love and warmth forever. People think the most meaningful films are ones that depict harrowing realities and are dramatic and drenched with heavy weight “importance.” Paddington 2 is an exception to that common misconception; it is important because of the message of pure altruism, goodness, and decency that is held within every square inch of this film. See it.
images/links obtained from:
https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980×551/public/images…