Jo and the Boy Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2015
Critics:
Audience:
Jo and the Boy jostles hard to maneuver its way into our minds with a liberal dose of feel good didacticism. But an overcooked script makes it anything but a buoyant cinematic experience. Jo and the Boy is a letdown.
Dec 27, 2015 By Weekender Reviews


There is no harm in movies striving to be feel good and motivational in spirit. But when there is an overdose of it, things can go awry. Jo and the Boy directed by Rojin Thomas jostles hard to maneuver its way into our minds with a liberal dose of feel good didacticism. But an overcooked script makes it anything but a buoyant cinematic experience.


On the surface it is a tale of an extraordinary camaraderie between a zestful woman and a raw child prodigy. But Jo and the Boy tries to offer many lessons about living one's dreams by exhaustively examining how troughs in life can offer a thoroughfare to success. Joan (Manju Warrier) is brought up by a father and mother who are synonymous for happiness and positive outlook on life. Lalu Alex and Kalaranjini who play these roles, allow their ward to give wings to her dreams. Naturally Jo grows up into a woman who will never settle for the status of an also ran. She aspires to be an animator of international repute.


Chris (Sanoop) a whiz kid with naughtiness and raw genius jumbles up Jo's life in the most unexpected manner. Life throws up puzzles galore and Jo and the boy join hands to explore the limitless possibilities of life. Jo and one of her close friends hit upon a novel plan to impress a leading animation production house so as to move up the ladder of success. Chris is her trump card and Achilles heel and this paradox is the film's crux. The problem that confronts the movie is that it gets entangled beyond a point and the efforts to reach a believable denouement don't fructify.


The pristine and extraordinarily beautiful nature which is a prominent presence in the movie do give it a charm but the inability to sustain the momentum and a tame finale deflates Jo and the Boy. The long drawn out sequences which are wedged into the plot to give a solid foundation to the basic thread of coming of age look painstakingly contrived. Manju Warrier tries too hard to get into the skin of the character. Her famous mannerisms and infectious charm do spruce up the movie but the plot is too hollow for even Manju to save it. The unconvincing antagonists worsens the plight of the movie. Sanoop is in his elements and puts up a competent show which deserves applause.



Lalu Alex, Pearly Mannie, Rekha, Sudheer Karamana, Kiran, Sunil Sukhada are part of an ensemble cast who look the part. Visuals are captivating but music is not exactly endearing. Jo and the Boy is one of those movies which flatters to deceive. Manju Warrier is its principal strength but pandering too much to her marvelous and irresistible histrionics ultimately prove its undoing. And Jo and the Boy ends up buoying no aspect of cinematic sensibilities of a discerning viewer. Jo and the Boy is a letdown.


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Matthewz Philip

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