The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Dir: Peter Hedges

2012

*

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a modern fairytale that was thought up by Ahmet Zappa (son of Frank Zappa) and developed by director Peter Hedges. The story revolves around a young couple (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton) who long for a child but are told will never be able to conceive. In an attempt to cleanse themselves of childless grief they get drunk and write down all the character traits they would want their child to have, if they were about to have one. They then bury the notepad in the garden and go to bed. During the night, said notepad miraculously turns into a young boy who becomes their instant son. Young Tim is everything the couple asked for in a child but with one difference. Tim has leaves on his legs. The rest of the film deals with the insecurities of the couple and the problems they have with their families. It's one of the stupidest films I have ever seen. There is absolutely no creative talent in the story or in the script and the acting is some of the worst I have ever seen. The best thing about fantasy films is that you can do pretty much anything. They can be absurd, they don't have to make any sense at all, you can get away with anything, just as long as it's fun and original - and even then I can think of some great fantasies that are neither. There is nothing about this story that seems necessary. It is make believe of course but it takes the subject matter far too seriously to be enjoyed. The whole film is narrated by the couple as they explain their story to an adoption agency, with the hope it will grant them a child. It is easy to overlook a few examples of ridiculousness and inaccuracies, especially as it is a fantasy film, but The Odd Life of Timothy Green has far too many to ignore. The leaves on Tim's leg have no relevance on the story at all, the pointless subplots involving the couples family members are based on painfully unimaginative scenarios and tiresome stereotypes. Again, none of it has any relevance to the story, not that there really is a story. Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton's performances are horribly forced, the film having several excruciating scenes involving both actors to choose from. I'm not sure I blame the actors though, the script and direction are clearly at fault. CJ Adams (Tim) is actually quite good, but his is a fairly simple role. Every good fairytale or fable needs to have a point to it, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is just a mish-mash of ideas that form nothing solid or even fathomable. The outcome of the film would have been the same had Tim existed or not, nothing was really learned or achieved and much is left unanswered, in particular, what was the question in the first place? It almost feels disingenuous. It's not though, it isn't that clever, it's just unimaginative garbage.