Film Review- Hotel Transylvania
After seeing a movie like this, it really makes you wonder why Adam Sandler doesn't just stick to voice acting.
Not to say that he hasn't made any good movies in the past, as fans of Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison will attest—but it's hard to think of a movie he's done in the last 10 years to indicate he's actually trying anymore.
But those criticisms aside, Hotel Transylvania is a fun movie for the whole family, and finally offers Sandler a role in which he can comfortably make use of the silly voice-acting style that seems so out of place in many of his live action films.
Plot
Sandler stars as Count Dracula or "Drac" as his friends call him, whose daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) is about to celebrate her 118th birthday (a pretty big deal in vampire terms, as the movie reveals). In honour of the party, Drac has invited everyone in monsterdom to the party, including Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein (Kevin James and Fran Dreshcer respectively), Wayne the werewolf (Steve Buscemi), Griffin the invisible man (David Spade) and Murray the mummy (CeeLo Green).
Drac is a widower, and has raised Mavis as a single father for many years. Though the details aren't made clear initially, Martha's death has some relation to why Drac and Mavis have lived in seclusion from human contact.
When Jonathan (Andy Samberg), a globetrotting 20-something human, shows up unexpectedly at the party, it spells all kinds of trouble. To make things more complicated, Jonathan and Mavis instantly fall for each other, causing further frustration from Drac, who decides to hide the fact that Jonathan is a human by outfitting him with monster attire. Though Jonathan becomes the life of the weeklong party, the scheme eventually comes unraveled, leading to some relational complications to the three major parties involved.
General Disclaimers
Just in time for the Halloween season, Hotel Transylvania is a movie for the whole family to enjoy. There's no profanity, sexual content or violence, so all the things you'd normally worry about when taking your kids to the movies can be put at ease. Parents will likely find it enjoyable too.
However, it might be wise to acknowledge that not all families feel comfortable with the theme of monsters and ghouls that are present throughout the film. Not everyone celebrates Halloween, so if you fall into that camp, you'll likely avoid seeing Hotel Transylvania for obvious reasons.
If you can proceed with the assumption that vampires, werewolves and zombified monsters are strictly works of fiction and pose no real threat to you or your family, you should have no problem taking in this film.
The review
As far as films go, Hotel Transylvania delivers as a family-friendly feature, one that parents and kids will be able to enjoy different parts of. As an adult, you may not find all of the hijinks and action-based mayhem as funny as your kids do, but there are times that the script is hilariously clever and caters to the parents (or if you're like me, childless adults) in the room.
It's simple, it's sweet, and not all that different from many of the other animated films you'll see this year from major studios. But the formula works and if you're able to accept it for what it is—a family movie—you should be able to enjoy it.
Thoughtful apparitions
From a Christian perspective, there are a couple of interesting points that can be made for seeing this film. Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, the film reveals that the rifts between humans and monsters are not quite so hostile as Dracula had thought to be the case. Humans are actually pretty interested in monster culture, and as such, they don't wish to cause he or Mavis any harm.
This provides an interesting point for how we think about the ideas of "us-and-them" mentalities. How often do we as Christians see ourselves as being totally set apart from the rest of the world? How often do we understand our duty as being to simply avoid the influences of the other side, and to keep our kids safe from all the dangers of being involved with people from the wrong backgrounds?
While it's not an illegitimate concern, there are lots of reasons, practical and philosophical, that simply hiding in our own little corner of society simply doesn't work. For one, we engage in day-to-day interactions through, work and random encounters, with people who we don't identify with. In some cases, it's vital that we get along with these people and form relationships, if only for the sake of picking up a paycheque to put bread on the table for our families. And for the most part, these people really don't mean us any harm.
More deeply, we're called to reach out to those who don't yet know the story of the gospel, and the person of Jesus. It's in the Bible, and if we want to call ourselves "Bible-believing Christians," we had better start taking this part of it seriously. Obviously there are hazards in approaching the unreached, and it's important that we not stray too far in doing so. But to some extent, everyone needs to engage the other side in order to truly create the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.
Hotel Transylvania may be a breath of fresh air and some really healthy food for thought when examining the dangers of "us-and-them" mindsets. I walked away feeling really encouraged, and even relieved that the virtue of reaching out to those who differ from us still has a place in popular culture.
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