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By Leon van Nierop

Journalist


Movie Review: An allergic reaction to The Nut Job

With a title like The Nut Job, the producers are asking for a sarcastic retort like: "Which nut thought this film would appeal to adults and kids?" or "What a nutty effort to get kids into a cinema!"


The premise may have seemed quite original on paper. A squirrel is banned from his habitat in a city park by other disgusted squirrels. He stumbles upon a nut shop and decides to rob the place, only to be confronted by bank robbers who are using the location to dig through to the bank next door.

The only redeeming feature in an otherwise mundane effort is a clumsy, pampered dog with a fear of dog whistles that frequently charges the squirrels and gets itself tied up in the bank job with some relative comedic results.

The rest of the characters are really unexciting and unoriginal. Another problem is that The Nut Job is not as funny or as endearing as it thinks, and after the recent, brilliant Frozen, it comes across as a forgettable afterthought.

Kids may have a better time than adults.

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