"Wild Thing" you make my heart bleed

I was really looking forward to seeing Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jone's adaptation of the children's book. And while the movie was good in a lot of ways, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Spike Jones also directed the mind-bending Being John Malkovich and Adaptation and the kick-ass "Sabatoge" music video by the Beastie Boys. For this movie, he joined forces with writer Dave Eggers, who wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and What is the What?, two books with bounding pulses of vitality. Eggers also created the ridiculous/inspiring Pirate shop/writing center at 826 Valencia in San Francisco. Just how intensely emotional can Eggers get? Here's the last line from AHWOSG:

What the fuck does it take to show you motherfuckers, what does it fucking take what do you want how much do you want because I am willing and I'll stand before you and I'll raise my arms and give you my chest and throat and wait, and I've been so old for so long, for you, I want it fast and right through me-Oh do it, you motherfuckers, do it do it you fuckers finally, finally, finally.

What is the What? is a postmodern biography of a Sudanese "Lost Boy" refugee, accounting atrocities beyond your imagination. And so, with these two minds collaborating on a children's book about a boy, Max, and his monsters, the possibilities were endless.

I think visually the film is a success. The wild things themselves look so wonderful, so lifelike, any kid would love to party with 'em. It's really cool to watch them jump around and smash into things. Also the location of the film, a remote area outside Melbourne Australia, is breathtaking. Even the handheld camerawork is good, tumbling down stairs and through forests and tunnels.

The story is pretty straightforward. Max throws a temper tantrum and drifts off into this imaginary world to escape the tribulations of reality, where he becomes king of the wild things. They engage in typical childhood rough-housing, dirt clod wars and the like.

But the monsters threw me for a loop. I couldn't get a handle on what age they were supposed to be. They're nieve and playful like young children, but also combative and overly sensitive like adolescents. They fight and whine A LOT. Max just wants them to get along, but it's draining for him and the audience, and there's a sense of relief when he finally comes back to the real world. Seriously the drama was overwhelming, and for no real clear reason.

One of the joys of working with children is regularly experiencing their effortless imagination and wild freedom, which this film exudes. If only Max could conjure a remedy for Eggers' bleeding heart...