Running Time: 110 Minutes
Certification: 15
Starring: Jack Samson, Jack Lancaster, Jared Scott, Casper Van Dien, Richard Kind, Gabrielle Haugh, Arianne Zucker
Across the history of cinema, there are numerous examples of musicians moving into directing features. These efforts can end in success, such as Questlove's magnificent documentary Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), or struggle to leave an impact, like Madonna's W.E.. They could even fall somewhere in-between, such as the divisive career of Rob Zombie. The latest example is Monsters of California, the feature debut from director/co-writer /Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge.
Opening in a room drenched in red light, teenager Dallas Edwards (Jack Samson) looks through his missing dad's belongings. The scene soon changes to a spooky house, which Dallas explores with his friends, Riley (Jared Scott) and Toe (Jack Lancaster). Their excited discovery of an apparition is just the beginning, as the friends search for meaning behind paranormal events. While his family start to move on with their lives, Dallas believes there is more to his father's disappearance than there appears. As his search sees the friendship group welcome new girl, Kelly (Gabrielle Haugh), they soon uncover government secrets that results in the military pursuing them.
Inspired by Amblin films, DeLonge's desire was to make a R-rated version that reflected the people he grew up with. This offers a focus on punk-rock skateboarders that tell off-colour jokes, integrated with DeLonge's passion for aliens, leaving the film to feel like a quintessential representation of the artist. The result may be effective for those who see themselves reflected in the lead characters, but, speaking as somebody who is an outsider, the result was less effective.
The story wishes to hit the expected beats, which includes a lead struggling with grief and experiencing a burgeoning young romance, all while uncovering a larger than life mystery that brings with it governmental figures in pursuit. These should be key aspects to intrigue and engage audiences, but what should be elements which transform into something interesting unfortunately remain as underdeveloped beats.
In fact, there seems to be more interest in appealing to DeLonge's sense of humour. Your mileage will vary regarding the comedy, but for this reviewer, the repeated instances of immature jokes and inept character actions felt difficult to get through. The main source of these gags is Toe, whose position in the group is to be the comedic relief, although that is questionable when the character comes off as an irritating hinderance. There is one particular scene where Toe tries causing trouble over a radio system, leading a soldier to be asked why he is laughing. One could say that this is a question to ask viewers, but that would assume that somebody else is laughing.
On top of all this, there is the baffling decision to try making this work feel solemn by adding a voiceover that clashes with the film's tone. If you can imagine an aspiring Christopher Nolan fan adding an out-of-place voiceover to a recording of Family Reunion, that is what this trite decision feels like. It does not help that the protagonist's inner turmoil feels undercooked. There is a constant conflict between Dallas' hope that his missing dad is still alive, while his remaining family have accepted the loss, but the family appears to barely exist outside of these clashes. The lacking reprieve leaves one struggling to believe that this family actually likes each-other, and makes it more impressive how Richard Kind brings a gravitas to his role that the film lacks.
What does not help matters is how overlong the runtime feels, and that is hampered by the scattershot approach to this story. While the focus is primarily on aliens, it also tries giving a wider look at phenomenon by including two separate encounters with a ghost and Bigfoot. Yet, considering how these encounters are ignored for most of the film, these entities feel like non-sequiturs at best. Credit is deserved to Tom DeLonge for bringing alive his passion project, especially when the film has many well-shot scenes that capture the gorgeous California landscape. Yet, despite aspirations of this sci-fi adventure delivering heart, humour, and thrilling adventure, Monsters of California sadly falls short.
Monsters of California is available on Digital Platforms now
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