Movie Thoughts: CODA
This is the first time in a long time I’ve seen a Best Picture winner after the fact. That tainted my opinion a bit.
I saw the poster for this at the Michigan theater nearly a year ago, almost bought a ticket. I wish I had.
I hesitate to use the word “cute” because it’s condescending, but this is a cute movie. It’s actually two movies. One deserves Best Picture, the other not so much. The deserving one is about a deaf family struggling to navigate the fishing business in northern Massachusetts. The other one is about a young girl with a singing dream and it feels like an above average after school special. As a whole, the movie still has heart — it’s sweet, it’s cute, it’s sometimes funny and sometimes it overdoes these things. Overall it’s better moments overshadow its less-than-better moments.
Aside from Matlin, I’d never heard of any of the cast. Emilia Jones is a competent leading lady, the namesake of the title (child of deaf adults). Her singing voice, while soulful and lovely, isn’t as special as the movie makes it out to be (go on tiktok and scroll for five minutes, you’ll find several girls just like her who have comparable talent). Troy Kotsur deserves his Oscar, and he owns the film’s most touching moment. His acceptance speech, unfortunately blown off the headlines by Will Smith’s ego, was something I’ve never seen before and I’m looking forward to him signing again when presenting the Best Supporting Actress award next year. Matlin is solid. Daniel Durant is, too. Eugenio Derbez’s choir teacher is a delightful cardboard cutout of a character who does nothing unexpected.
There’s so much wild gesturing, acting with your hands, palms and fingers colliding. The film’s best, most unique moments involve the deaf parents talking to each other. I would’ve liked to have seen more of those moments and less of Ruby cliff diving with her harmlessly-attractive love interest. As Jordan Peele would say, I’ve seen that before.
The film isn’t without its flaws. It occasionally makes the family a little too precious, coming off as desperate for us to see them as relatable or likable. Several times, characters do stupid or unbelievable things to make sure the plot goes where it needs to.
But whatever. It won the award and I cared about these people and even about Ruby’s cliche singing dream by the end.
Politics won CODA Best Picture more than anything, but it was a really weak year and in this day and age, maybe a nice feel-good movie like this is all we need.
