DailyView: Day 360, Movie 512

How did I miss this?

The Voices came out in the middle of the time when I was going to the movies all the time, and I have always enjoyed Ryan Reynolds. Heck, this was not too far before Deadpool. So how had I never even heard of this little dark horror/comedy gem?

Ryan Reynolds played Jerry, who worked at a bathtub factory. He seemed to have a sad little life, living alone with his pets Bosco the dog and Mr. Whiskers the cat. He was socially awkward and had trouble with making connections. He had to see his psychiatrist Dr. Warren (Jacki Weaver), who kept pushing him to take his medication. You get glimpses into what appeared to be a dark past from Jerry, but you really have no idea where the film is going to take him. Jerry feels like that withdrawn loser who can overcome his demons and adjust to the world.

Unfortunately, that is not exactly in the cards for Jerry. As he carried on conversations with his supportive dog and the cruel and wicked cat, Jerry found himself in situations where his darker nature took over.

The film also starred Anna Kendrick (who has quite a list of oddball films) and Gemma Arterton, as women that Jerry was interested in, Kendrick, in particular, had a really strong performance and you are really rooting for her to be able to make it through.

Ryan Reynolds is handed a character that was darker than anything he had done before, including Wade Wilson in Deadpool. The catastrophic circumstances of Jerry’s life was devastating for him and gave the audience a reason to continue to hope for the best for this tragic character. The flashbacks to his youth with an abusive father and a mentally ill mother are heartbreaking and truly frames the character of Jerry in a different manner than you would expect. Right up until the end, I was hoping for the best for Jerry.

It was a funny movie, but there were plenty of times where laughing just felt like the wrong response, yet laughter is what would happen. The voices of the two pets, provided by Reynolds, were perfect and capsulized the way dogs and cats are perceived.

The ending sequence is as batshit crazy as the rest of the film, putting me slightly on edge. Honestly, the song at the end made me feel plenty of feelings, including feeling a little disgusted for liking it.

This was a much deeper film than I thought it was going to be and the character of Jerry was deeply scarred and developed more effectively than you would think. It was funny and filled with great performances from a really strong cast. The Voices is a trip of a film.