Review: The Odd Life of Timothy Green

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Still Photo of The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Written and directed by Peter Hedges (Dan in Real Life), The Odd Life of Timothy Green stars Jennifer Garner as Cindy Green and Joel Edgerton as Jim Green, a young couple who reside in idyllic small-town Stanleyville. Cindy works at the pencil museum owned by the austere Ms. Crudstaff (Dianne Wiest) and Tim works in a failing pencil factory ran by arrogant Franklin Crudstaff (Ron Livingston).

The story begins with the Greens pleading to adopt a child, by sharing a fantastical story with adoption agency staff. The Greens have tried unsuccessfully to have a child. Devastated by the news that they've exhausted all possibilities to conceive a child, they deal with their grief by fantasizing what their child would have been like. They write down all the qualities and achievements their imaginary child would have, including "love and be loved" and "scoring the winning goal." The Greens put the notes into a box and bury it in their garden.

A freak rainstorm occurs over their house in the middle of the night, and they discover that the garden has produced an unnatural harvest a la Tom Thumb-- a 10-year-old boy named Timothy (CJ Adams) who calls them Mom and Dad. Timothy seems like a normal boy, with the exception of several leaves growing from him. He also exhibits all the qualities they'd envisioned, although some of the literal translation is vaguely reminiscent of but less gruesome than W. W. Jacob's short horror story, "The Monkey's Paw."

Timothy seems almost too perfect as new parents Cindy and Jim struggle with how to introduce their son to family and their small community. Jim is so obsessed with being a better father than his own (David Morse), so much that Jim's self-motivation steamrolls his son's laissez-faire approach. Timothy is more preoccupied with the reclusive and lovely Joni (Odeya Rush).

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is odd indeed -- despite Disney's promotional campaign appealing to family audiences, the underlying themes of infertility, death and loss are a bit much for younger audiences to comprehend. The sentimentality of this film is quite heavy handed as well. Although I was capable of suspending disbelief to embrace the heart of the story and especially the character of Timothy, the characters of Cindy and Tim are too artificial to feel truly engaging. The parents spend more time controlling and over-protecting their son than embracing and learning from his unique perspective.

Whether that's a flaw in Hedge's screenwriting or direction is difficult to differentiate, as I often found Garner rather annoying. The most dynamic portrayal is that of young actor Adams, especially in scenes between him and his soccer coach portrayed by hip-hop rapper Common. The best and most memorable exchange of the entire movie occurs when Coach Cal asks after Timothy's embarrassing tryout, "Why are you smiling?" to which the young boy responds, "Because I know that I can only get better!"

The strong supporting cast members suffer as well, lacking multi-dimensional roles. M. Emmet Walsh is only briefly present onscreen as the humorous Uncle Bob, and Wiest is also underutilized in her role. Young actress Rush resembles a young Mila Kunis with a bit more cynicism, and is better characterized than most of the other roles.

The cinematography and art design of The Odd Life of Timothy Green reeks of true Disney, with lush vibrant colors and imagery. Sadly, the shiny and sentimental veneer is not enough embellishment to hide the lack of substance in the heart and soul of this film. Want to enjoy a Disney film about a magical boy whose parent embraces his uniqueness? Stay at home and watch Pinocchio instead.