Trailer Trashin’: It’s Up Meets Short Circuit in Robot & Frank

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Whatever you do to celebrate – have a barbecue, go to the movies, watch fireworks – enjoy yourself. I’ll be watching my local parade, having lunch at the Coney Island, and then watching my traditional double feature of Jaws (1975) and Independence Day (1996). But in the meantime, let’s take a look at the first trailer for the upcoming indie sci-fi comedy Robot & Frank.

Premise: Set in the near future, aging ex-jewel thief Frank (Frank Langella) receives a gift from his children: a robot butler (voice of Peter Sarsgaard) programmed to look after him. Initially wary of the robot’s presence in his life, Frank warms up to his new companion and uses him to help commit a heist in order to win the affection of the local librarian (Susan Sarandon).

My take: I’m sad to say I generally don’t pay much attention to the independent film scene, certainly not as much as I probably should. But every once in a while, I’ll find out about an indie film that totally captures my interest. Robot & Frank is one of those films. This is just such a brilliant concept, which makes me think of a cross between Pixar’s Up (2009) and the classic sci-fi comedy Short Circuit (1986).

I have to say, this might be the most high-profile cast I’ve ever seen for an independent film. What can I really say about Frank Langella? He’s an amazing actor, always very watchable in everything he does, and he looks like he’s enjoying himself a lot in his role here as Frank. I could say the same thing about Susan Sarandon, who plays Jennifer the librarian. She’s a great actress, and it’s always nice to see her onscreen. I also have to give credit to Peter Sarsgaard for doing the voice of the robot – there’s really no way anyone would realize it’s him unless they pay attention to the credits, and that shows a really admirable lack of ego on his part. I really like James Marsden, who plays Frank’s son Hunter, and it’s nice that for once he’s not playing a guy who ends up as the also-ran in a love triangle – see the X-Men films, The Notebook (2004), Superman Returns (2006), and Enchanted (2007) if you don’t know what I’m referring to. Also, Marsden and Langella must like working with each other, because this is the third film they’ve done together; they previously acted alongside one another in Superman Returns and The Box (2009). We also briefly see Liv Tyler as Madison, Frank’s daughter. She’s been one of my favorite actresses since the first time I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), and I’m always interested to see what she does next. And Jeremy Strong looks appropriately smarmy as Jake, the young rich guy who is Frank and the robot’s first mark in their heist.

I was really impressed by the effects used to create the robot. Probably the biggest compliment I can give the filmmakers in this regard is that I can’t tell exactly what techniques they’re using in a given shot. If they are using CGI, I can’t tell where it’s been used. The best kind of movie effects are the ones that are done so well that you stop thinking about the craft that went into making them, and just accept them as part of the experience. I think that’s the case here.

There’s really only one thing that I’m going to complain about here, and it’s what may be the gripe most people have about trailers: it shows too much. The trailer clearly got into the later part of the film, with something going wrong during the heist and Frank and the robot having to go on the run. I wish the marketers had shown a little more restraint putting this trailer together.

But that issue aside, this still looks like a really interesting, funny, and heartwarming film. If the rest of the film lives up the promise shown here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it up for some awards consideration come early next year. Whether I get to see it at a theater or have to wait for DVD, I’m definitely going to check out Robot & Frank at some point.

ANTICIPATION: I really, really hope this get released somewhere near me.

Release Date: August 24th, 2012 in limited theaters

Starring: Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong, and Jeremy Sisto
Director: Jake Schreier
Writer: Christopher D. Ford

P.S. So, the mystery 2014 film from Marvel Studios has finally been revealed, and it’s Guardians of the Galaxy. I guess Marvel is really going all-out with their cosmic stuff. The only question now is whether the studio and filmmakers will be able to get general audiences to embrace characters like Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, and Rocket Raccoon in the same way they embraced the members of the Avengers. Time will tell, but I trust Marvel to make the right decisions.