Movie Review #35: The Book of Henry (2017)

 

I don't even know where to start with this movie. It's mind-blowingly terrible but in such a way that you have to see it. I watch a lot of movies and a lot of them are directed and/or by people you'd think were clinically insane, but those people make weird terrible movies on a budget of 42 dollars and a bag of half eaten Twinkies. THIS movie was made by the guy who Disney had set up to do the third Star Wars movie and written by a guy named Greg Hurwitz who seems to make popular Spy fiction. What I'm saying is that a movie this weird and insane should not be done by people like that.

I think this movie could be categorized as a coming of age story. It's what fits best I think. I mean in a normal sane coming of age story some crazy thing happens that changes the kids forever. Like the Sandlot, probably my favorite coming of age story. The new kid learns about baseball, Babe Ruth, puking after eating too much chewing Tabaco and going on a Ferris wheel ride. The main plot is that the Babe Ruth baseball his dad owned is lost and they think they can never get it back until one kid goes over there to get it back and doesn't care about the crazy stories they tell about the dog that lives in that backyard. It's a normal story that is made to feel bigger because it's a bunch of kids doing it. The Book of Henry is not normal in the slightest.

Ok, Henry is a kid who knows a lot of shit. He can do the fucking stock market, create Rube Goldberg machines and is smart as hell. He pretty much acts like an adult in a kids body and does all kinds of shit for his mom. Like her finances and shit. Anyway Henry believes that the man next door is sexually assaulting his daughter and makes up a plan to kill him. Anyway just before he can he ends up with a brain tumor and dies. Yes I'm not making any of this up and we get like one scene to set up the whole brain tumor thing before it really happens. It's uh really stupid.

So his brother gives his mom the book that he had written about all of his suspicions about the neighbor who is like the James Gordon of the movie. He's got his job. I forget what it is. His brother works at the top level of the Child Abuse place so his daughter is shit out of luck. So after reading this book she decides to go along with it and kill the neighbor. Yes, she buys a fucking sniper rifle like she's fucking Charles Bronson and not the lady from the remake of The Ring. She then is very close to taking him out but one of the Rube Goldberg machines Henry made makes he realize that he was just a kid and she shouldn't be listening to him (Oh and before I forget the neighbors stepdaughters room is in clear view. Like they could have easily taken pictures of what was happening. Like what the hell?) 

The only reason he doesn't get to turn her in for you know attempted murder is the fact that the School Principal has finally accepted that this guy is a piece of shit because of an interpretive ballet dance his stepdaughter does. I guess she interprets it as her saying she was molested so he ends up killing himself and his stepdaughter goes to live with Henry's mom and brother. 

FINAL VERDICT: This movie is really bad and you can see why Disney took away Rise of Skywalker from this guy but HOLY HOT SHIT is it an AMAZING bad movie that every single person on this planet that enjoys trainwrecks of cinema needs to see. It's weird. It's incompetent. it's like one of my blog posts made into a movie!!!! It's that bad!!! Watch it. Especially with someone who knows nothing about the movie.