Odd Thomas – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Anton Yelchin is one of those actors who, I feel, have a sort of Tom Cruise or Will Smith appeal. And while I haven’t seen his two biggest films, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation, I am quite a fan of Like Crazy, Charlie Bartlett, House of D, and a few other of his movies. Alongside the appeal he brings to the film, we also have Willem Dafoe and Addison Timlin, mostly known for her work on Californication. Together, these three create a film which seems like a cult-hit that is either about to get canceled or was recently canceled.

To begin, let’s talk about the characters. Our lead is the character Odd (played by Anton Yelchin) who would have been named Todd, but there was an issue at the hospital. Odd has medium like abilities and fits his name quite well. However, rather than present some weird socially maladjusted guy, we get this strange, yet charming, young man who is highly likable. Alongside him is Stormy (played by Addison Timlin) who is his childhood sweetheart and, sort of, his partner in fighting crime. Together they make such a cute couple to the point where they are so cute it is 50’s sitcom corny. The last person to note is Willem Dafoe’s character who is Wyatt Porter, chief of police, who works with Odd in an unofficial capacity to solve crimes in the town of Pico Mundo.

The film’s story, overall, feels like a summarized version of a show’s first season and even so, it really gets you into things quickly. This is done primarily through Odd breaking the fourth wall and talking to you directly throughout the movie as he introduces himself, his friends, his powers of being a medium, and his life as a short-order cook and detective. The main thing the story focuses on, outside of Odd’s relationship, is his medium powers which: allow him to see the dead who have not moved onto the next life; give him clairsentience; find people he is looking for; possibly have visions of the future and see these demon-like beings known as Bodox, which remind me of the demons from Dead Like Me. Now, these Bodox play an important role for they are what gets the story rolling. You see, Bodox usually only appear as individuals when someone is going to die, but one man known as Fungus Bob Roberston (played by Shuler Hensley) has an obscene amount of them around his person. This leads to Odd trying to piece together his dreams, as well as co-worker Viola’s (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw), while using his gift, in order to try to solve a series of murders, and one main mystery, which all could lead up to an utter massacre.

Being completely upfront, this film is very corny and campy. The dialog has a 50s sitcom style at times, with cursing, which will make you not take things seriously, but thanks to Yelchin’s charisma, and Odd breaking the 4th wall, you are kept engaged throughout the film. But, perhaps, the most interesting about the film is the story. The way Odd Thomas is written, the mystery doesn’t really get all that complicated, but still has the ability to throw some twist and turns in there which make you think “why didn’t I see that?” All the while, it tries to balance a tone of seriousness when handling death while trying to keep its campy quality consistent. Also, just to note, despite how corny their relationship was, I greatly admired Odd and Stormy’s romance and how the movie used it to get you further invested into Odd as a character.

But, in many ways I feel the corniness and campiness of the movie works against itself as it creates a sort of appeal. For one, Stormy and Odd’s relationship is so lovey dovey that it really feels like a superficial romance. Also, as much as characters may yell and look serious when there is a murder or something similar, the campy tone of the movie makes it so that it never holds the weight you think the scene should. Add onto that, the mystery and investigation itself feels almost rushed to truly make it feel like this wasn’t really written to be a movie, but perhaps a pilot or a season summary as I mentioned before. I would even compare this to Drinking Buddies, in terms of how it is written more to be a series than movie.

Overall: Possible Buy

This film has the type of appeal which makes it feel like it has the makings of being a cult-hit, if it was a TV series. The reason I say that is because, as campy and corny as it is, it remains highly likable. Odd as a character shows how come Anton has the ability to do films like this and then go do blockbusters. He has the type of persona which made people like Will Smith and Tom Cruise stars, and his role in Odd Thomas is no different. Odd is eccentric, charming, and has that Veronica Mars way of looking for trouble and then when you add on Dead Like Me‘s campiness, it makes it so each character feels setup like you are going to see them past this movie, fall further in love with them, and ultimately it makes the film feel like a pilot with the commercials cut out. At the same time though, with it being so campy, it makes ever event which would otherwise create a deep seriousness, feel like when someone died on Dead Like Me or Pushing Daisies. Yeah, it’s serious, but only really for that scene. So, overall, I think this is a possible buy for this is the first film in sometime I can imagine watching again, if just to show other people it. The ending though, I swear to you, may make you cry.