The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

This amusing short by the fantastic Wes Anderson is now playing exclusively on Netflix, along with three other movie shorts. They’re all adorable and a gift to true Wes Anderson fans. (I’m one of them.)

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 37 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

I adore Wes Anderson movies. They are so clever, witty, colorful, and unique. If you’re a fan of his style too, you’ll get a kick out of this short movie based on the world by Roald Dahl. Director Wes Anderson and writer Roald Dahl are quite the perfect pair. Wes Anderson’s style is recognizably unique. The whimsical stories by Roald Dahl fit like a glove in Wes Anderson’s hands.

THINGS I LIKED:

The incredibly talented cast includes many of the favorite actors of Wes Anderson: Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Richard Ayoade.
At the very beginning of the film, we see Ralph Fiennes acting as Roald Dahl, setting up his writing desk. Ralph had listened to tapes of Roald Dahl doing the same thing, so all that we see in the first minute is Ralph Fiennes basically channeling the famous author and improvising!
Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley were both in the Academy Award-winning movie Schindler’s List in 1993.
Surprisingly, Ben Kingsley is the only Oscar winner in the film; however, three of the other actors were nominated: Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, and Ralph Fiennes. They all deserve that famous, gold trophy and, I’m certain they’ll each get one someday.
Not a split second is wasted with quick dialogue that is delivered PERFECTLY by the actors.
The set designs and color palette are perfect for a short, magical story like this.
The humor is subtle, whimsical, and most welcome. Many of the humorous moments are the visual gags when the actors break the fourth wall and take turns as the narrator, talking straight to the audience wherever they find the camera.
I haven’t read the source material, so I can’t tell you how closely it aligns with it; however, the film makes me want to, and that has to count for something, right?

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

I wanted MORE! I wish that had been a feature film, but I understand that the story was short.
Some viewers have complained that the lines are delivered too fast. That is absolutely true. It’s a style choice that I actually get a kick out of.
If you don’t like Wes Anderson’s unique style, then you should definitely take a pass on this. It’s more of what he does but even more exaggerated. I dig it!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids might be amused or confused.
No profanity.

THEMES:

The power of mental discipline
Greed
Service to others
The power of what money can do

INTERESTING LINES:

“I don’t want to be the richest man on earth.” – Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch)
“It was slowly beginning to dawn upon Henry that nothing is any fun if you can get as much of it as you want, especially money.” – Narrator
“A good plot is like a dream.” – Narrator
“The very rich are enormously resentful of bad weather. It is the one discomfort that their money cannot do anything about.” – Narrator