TIFF Review: ‘Nutcrackers’ is a Sweet Story of Unexpected Circumstances

Not everyone is cut out to be a parent, and in most cases, there’s at least some kind of opting in to the process, even if having children isn’t the intended consequence. But there are also acts of god and tragic, unpredictable circumstances that change plans for everyone with no warning. Nutcrackers presents such a scenario, with one man used to living just for himself suddenly charged with taking care of four nephews who have no idea who he is and have just about as little interest in getting to know him as he does them.

Michael (Ben Stiller) drives in his fancy yellow sports car from Chicago to rural Ohio, talking with his work colleague on the way about a big presentation that he needs to be back for, with an unsympathetic response suggesting that he chose a bad time to head out of town. The untimely death of his sister and her husband isn’t something he could have scheduled, and it doesn’t help that he’s only ever met two of the four troublemakers since he and his sister were estranged. Worse still, the local social worker (Linda Cardellini) can’t find anyone to take the boys, which means that Michael isn’t there just to sign papers but instead to act as their new guardian for an indefinite period of time.

Nutcrackers, which opens this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, comes from director David Gordon Green and brings Stiller back for a rare on-screen appearance following his most recent directing work on Escape at Dannemora and Severance. It’s a generally more serious endeavor than the fare that made both Green and Stiller famous, with plenty of comedy still present to ensure an enjoyable experience. The situation at the house when Michael arrives is wildly out of control, with dirty dishes piled up almost double the height of the sink and shoes sitting in the dishwasher, along with a snake in the toilet and other wonderful surprises for an unamused Michael.

This film isn’t meant to surprise or disarm audiences with the direction of its plot, which evidently guides both Michael and the boys closer to one another. The journey to get there is wholly worthwhile, and it’s nice to see Michael, who initially responds negatively to being called “Uncle Mike” before softening to the term of endearment, loosen up a bit and come to understand that there’s more to life than just work and that he can fill a void that’s been left for these boys by the absence of their parents. It also gives him a chance to get to know the nephews whose childhoods he’s missed out on and to develop a strong, if not always pleasant, relationship with them.

The true stars of this film are Homer, Ulysses, Atlas, and Arlo Janson, who play the four brothers and are in fact similarly related in real life. They have natural talent, and that doesn’t extend just to their acting skills, since the characters’ late mother owned a ballet studio and therefore instilled in them a passion for dance that has mostly led to social rejection but remains as one of their only connections to the dear parent they’ve lost. They’re also extraordinarily capable of causing trouble, seen before Michael even first appears when they break into an amusement park at night and quickly spark a fire. Fortunately there isn’t as much damage when they get Michael’s car keys and go for a joyride, but it does demonstrate their penchant for unchecked and often destructive behavior.

This film provides solid entertainment even if it doesn’t take any risks or add anything cinematically inventive, and the script from Leland Douglas contains a handful of memorable one-liners, many assigned to Stiller but also to the Janson boys, who truly excel at delivering them. Fans of Green’s will find this closest in tone to something like Prince Avalanche, not bursting with laugh-out-loud moments but smartly and humorously framed. It’s good to see Stiller back on screen too, but the best reason to see the film is this magnificently talented band of brothers.

Movie Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: Depending on where the film gets picked up, it could be a lighthearted awards addition, maybe even just for Stiller despite the star power (but anonymity) of his younger castmates.