I had the opportunity to attend the premier of Disney’s new The Odd Life of Timothy Green the other night. The movie stars Jennifer Garner as Cindy Green and Joel Edgerton as Jim Green. Timothy is played by CJ Adams. Jim and Cindy Green have always wanted a family, but find out from their doctor that it just isn’t in the cards for them to be biological parents. This heart-breaking news is tough for them to take. In their attempt to put this news behind them and move on with their life, they come up with a list of the traits their dream child would have. They place the list in a wooden box and bury it in the garden. Then the magic starts! That evening an unusual storm, at only their house, results in the arrival of Timothy – straight from the garden!
The Greens are overjoyed to welcome the quirky yet lovable Timothy into their life. They begin to teach him, and themselves, how to stand up to peers, be yourself (along with the help of a young girl played by Odeya Rush), to believe in yourself and to be accepting of our differences. It’s almost as if Timothy were a miracle child sent from the heavens to prove to the Green’s that they can, and should be parents.
I found the movie to be entertaining with a few touching moments as the “new” parents stumble their way around. I think it brings home the notion that kids teach their parents more than they know. I’m not so sure it’s a kid’s movie though, I took my eight year old son to see the movie with me (there were many young kids in the theatre that evening) and he did not like the movie. It was hard for him to understand the way things worked out – the ending did not sit well with him. It’s quite a tear jerker, so, bring along your Kleenex box.
The movie is directed by Academy Award®–nominated director/writer Peter Hedges (“Dan in Real Life,” What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”). The movie has a PG rating and will be released in theaters on Wednesday, August 15th.
Disclosure: I received free movie passes to facilitate this review. All opinions and views are my own.
