Downsizing — 1.5 Gavels 51% Rotten Tomatoes 21% Audience

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Starting with an interesting premise, it ended up just being a big mess.  Rarely do you see an audience score this low and this movie deserves it.  The director struggled to find an ending, and a middle; he did find slow and boring.  The world will be saved if we all downsize.  Or, if you don’t like that theme, if you downsize you will be rich and all your troubles will go away.  How about the theme that some people will always be poor but the rich will neither notice nor assist them?  If you get the idea that this film is more depressing than hopeful, you are correct.

Paul and Audrey face financial issues in Omaha.  After hearing the benefits, they decide to “get small.”  Audrey back outs at the last minute, too late for Paul.  Paul starts out in a mansion, but after the divorce, ends up in an apartment below carefree Dusan.  After a wild party, Paul wakes up to meet Ngoc Lan Tran, shrunk against her will and smuggled into the US in a TV box which caused her to lose a lower leg.  Paul tries to help her but makes things worse.  If this all seems a long way from helping the environment, once again you are correct.

Matt Damon is Paul.  Given that his last three major films are The Great Wall, Suburbicon, and this fiasco, he may be looking for a new agent.  Any volunteers?  Kristen Wiig has a short, nothing part as Audrey, totally wasted.   Christoph Waltz as Dusan and Udo Kier as Dusan’s friend have to be embarrassed to be associated with this flick.  The only bright spot was Hong Chau as Ngoc; she was the only thing that made this movie watchable.

Please save your hard earned cash.  With a budget of $68 million, this movie looks like a big disaster.  But, hey, they do like Matt Damon in China, so all is not lost.  Maybe this movie will translate better in Chinese than English.  I have tried my darndest to find something good to say about this movie but I said it all in the first five words of this review “. . .an interesting premise.”  Beyond that, I’m drowning. You are on your own. 

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