Brigsby Bear (2017) REVIEW

Last Monday, UK cinema-goers who purchased tickets to Odeon’s “Screen Unseen” event were treated to an early screening of “Brigsby Bear”, a comedy-drama film starring Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear and Matt Walsh, as well as a host of other talented actors.

Whilst the film has been out in the US for some time, it’s not currently out in the UK, but British audiences’ responses to the film were overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the film on Odeon’s social media channels. I was one of the viewers who were pleasantly surprised by this film from Sony Pictures, not having heard too much about its US release.

Brigbsy Bear is the story of James, a sheltered man in his twenties who is obsessed with the “Brigsby Bear” show, a television show about a Teddy Ruxpin-esque anthropomorphic bear who goes on intergalactic adventures and teaches lessons along the way. Once the show ends (in a beautiful and unique twist that I won’t spoil here), James is determined to wrap up the show’s narrative by creating a Brigsby Bear movie with his new group of friends. Films about making films can often seem cheesy and almost “easy”, but Brigsby isn’t one of them, and is instead wonderfully complex without becoming confusing for the casual viewer.

Brigsby Bear’s narrative twist is dark and jarring, but is played in a way that the film is one of optimism and hope: we are rooting for James and his home-made movie every step of the way, and we want him to succeed, as eccentric and downright odd as he is, sometimes.

Ultimately, Brigsby Bear is a movie that deals with many themes: creativity, family, love, abandonment. Its serious and complex themes when viewed through James’ eyes, however, are made refreshingly simple, and his optimistic take on the world leaves audiences feeling uplifted and inspired. What’s stopping us from picking up a camera and making our own movie? Why don’t we spend more time with our friends? Why have we given up on our dreams? James asks the characters of Brigsby Bear these questions and they are left without an answer for him, because they have no answers. He presents a vision of a world where everyone can get what they want if they let go of their fears.

It’s not a film I would recommend to everyone: the humour is silly (but oh so perfectly timed), and non-nerds may have trouble empathising with the idea that you can love a work of fiction so much that you want to create part of that world, but I would recommend it to anyone who’s ever been brave enough to follow their dreams. Brigsby Bear is funny, heartwarming and amazingly unique. It’s a film that throws together so many narrative elements and manages to balance them perfectly, and is definitely one of the most underrated films of 2017.

Brigsby Bear is currently available on Digital and Blu-Ray in the US and is set to release in the UK on the 8th of December 2017, according to the BBFC.