Likeable family
fare starring the ever-adorable Drew Barrymore accompanied by The Office's John Krasinski.
This based-on fact story of a trio of grey whales stranded in the Arctic ice
in 1988 has sufficient distance to allow a fairly politically astute account of
events. Albeit one tempered by an anthropormorphic attitude from the film makers that is reflective of the thinking that made this such a big story at the time.
From the cynicism of most parties'
involvement in the media-fuelled coverage of the whales' plight to the
over-earnestness of Barrymore’s Greenpeace supporter (who wades in without
regard for the Inuit way of life), there's no lack of insight into the
characters' often less than altruistic motivations. But somewhere along the way
there seems to have been a choice that a film for all ages means it has to be
big-hearted towards all parties (even Ted Danson's environment-busting oil
tycoon).
What has all the ingredients of a great
tale (Ronald Reagan's on the phone, even the Russians help out!) ends up
slightly anodyne thanks to Ken Kwapis' rather flaccid direction. It comes as
little surprise that most of his work has been in TV comedy.
The montage of period reportage over the
end credits shows how close this hones to the actual story (even the
unlikeliest elements such as the romance between the President's staffer and
the national guardsman); and that is
Sarah Palin back when she was a sportscaster. The outcome for the aquatic
mammals was less definite than the one depicted by the film, but no one could
accuse it of lacking generosity.