by Eric Payne
If you are able to sit through your typical story arc of the good son turned loose cannon (in this case, bunny) who’s ultimate fate is redemption, the son who never realized his potential until right now, and a talking live-action bunny that poops jelly beans then you’ve got the chops for Hop, the new movie from the producers who brought us Despicable Me.
I do believe actor James Marsden (X-Men, Enchanted) has sunk to new low in his effort to capture the lucrative children’s movie demographic. But I also found Hank Azaria to be masterful as the subservient Carlos, the head chick but number 2 in command of the candy factory at Easter Island, the homeland of Easter Bunny royalty similar to what the South Pole is to someone else we know. David Hasselhoff is quite good at being… David Hasselhoff. He definitely knows how to play himself making fun of himself. Gary Cole, most notably remembered for his wonderful turn as Bill Lumbergh in the movie Office Space, plays the disapproving dad of James Marsden’s, Fred, to the point of cliche.
But before I go any further — THIS IS A KID’S MOVIE! It wasn’t meant for adults except for the occasionally dated references that only a parent born in the seventies and early eighties would know. My daughter and her friends liked it and the movie did well keeping their attention through nearly all of it’s 90-minute run time. It has given them that much more to daydream about when it comes to Easter and the Easter Bunny.
If you’re like me and you’re home on the weekend without the spouse or even if your spouse is with you, take the kids out to see Hop. They won’t be disappointed. And for the time they are engaged with the movie, neither will you.
Follow Eric on Facebook and Twitter. He has written the articles Investing In An Emotional Letdown and the now infamous, My Wife Is NOT My Friend (on Facebook). He keeps it candid about being a man, dad and husband on his blog, Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. In his “spare time” Eric reviews autos, tech products and writes relationship articles for Atlanta-based J’Adore Magazine.