I had just finished brewing my second cup of Twining’s Earl Gray Tea as I sat down to watch "The Nut Job," directed by Peter Lepeniotis. The day had been long, and I knew I still had a job to do: reviewing this film. A brief look at IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes showed a not-so-satisfactory score, and I couldn’t believe the task I was putting myself through. What I found, however, was a widely misunderstood piece of art. This reviewer understands (and wishes more people would) that you cannot judge someone’s creation without understanding its context and its goal or, as one says, a nut by its shell. Does the Sistine Chapel have to meet the same requirements as "Gnomeo and Juliet"? I think not. In this film I found that the animal’s government identifies with the working class, and that working class juxtaposed to the human’s robbery highlight the weak attempting to survive in a world where gluttony and illegally obtaining requisites are often confused to be one.
"The Nut Job" is the story of Surly the squirrel, a misunderstood loner who rejects his community's practice in keeping food safe for the winter. After an altercation over some nuts, (believe me, I know) Surly is banished by his leaders, Raccoon and Bird, from the park and sent to the city. There, Surly and his friend Buddy find a store of nuts and begin planning the ultimate heist. At this very same store, a group of bandits plan to rob the bank that is directly across the street. Then Andie, Surly’s friend from the park, comes with a group to take back food for those starving in the very same park that Surly was banished from. These two paralleled heists then begin interrupting each other, and then (for those who do not want spoilers please stop reading now) Raccoon reveals his true colors; he wants to control the animals in the park by controlling the quantity of food. This all concludes in the humans being arrested, and the animals succeeding over Raccoon and Bird for a happy ending.
Surly and all his fellow animal friends are cut off from the necessities to survive, and they are only distributed by Raccoon and Bird and only by their standards. “For the Park,” a common phrase for the commoners to chant, is a guise over its true intention: to control the food supplies to, ultimately, control the masses. Have we not learned? It appears not. The top half of the one percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. This is a direct comment on our lives today. We are told to get employed, help out our neighbors, and do good, but what good can we do when Raccoon and Bird choose when and how we get our basic essentials?
The humans' heist is happening simultaneously as the animals' heist of the nuts. Now, the structure of the script can’t be argued because Peter Lepeniotis is a genius. So why is that there? If the animals are the proletariat living in a world that requires robbery to survive, then why do we see the humans robbing? Why not just make them "Peanuts"-esque adults who punctuate events throughout time, but are not featured?
Simple: The humans' gluttony for wealth allows the animals to morally and understandably steal to survive. That’s what life is, isn’t it? People want more, and more, and more because they believe they deserve it, while people who need just enough to survive the winter are then thrown into jail for “disrupting the system.” Why is that? Why do we punish those that break laws to survive, and reward those who break laws because they want that third yacht? Mr. Lepeniotis understood this and purposefully gave these entitled bastards their “just desserts.”
The humans rob the bank juxtaposed to the animals robbing the nut store create a side-by-side comparison of the working class and average human who just needs to survive, and the animal who says I want more.
One thing I could not find a reason for, which is strange because this commentary on social structure is so strong, is the purpose of some of the dialogue. There are strange moments when it is clear that the only reason why something is said is to get a “nut” pun in. From mentioning the Lost City of “Nutlantis” and the countless amounts of times someone shouted the phrase, “This is nuts!” I found myself lost. This movie sacrifices its shape of an actual world for cheap tricks and childish games. Also there was this one part where they found a lot of nuts and they started dancing. It was weird.
With a good conscience, I give this movie a solid four nuts out of five. I’m not sure for how long, but the movie can be found on Netflix, and I suggest you watch it this weekend. Be forewarned that this is not a Netflix and Chill kind of movie. From my couch to your computer, this has been Erik Poger Abrahamsen reviewing for you the fans.
