The Nut Job

If nut puns and fart jokes are your idea of entertainment, then The Nut Job is for you. If, on the other hand, you prefer a well-developed story and smart characters, you’ve most likely entered the wrong theater. Unfortunately, no amount of animation prowess can make up for the lackluster film that is The Nut Job.

Surley (Will Arnett), a purple squirrel, has always been a loner and fended for himself. As a result he’s often causing trouble for the rest of the animals of the park, including Andie (Katherine Heigl). Regardless, they put up with his shenanigans. When his latest stunt costs the entire park’s winter food supply however, he is banished to the city by Raccoon (Liam Neeson). There he discovers a nut shop that can feed him and the entire park for all of winter. It’s one last job and one last chance at redemption for Surley.

As his name suggests, Surley is rarely a likeable character, even when he has a change of heart towards the end. He’s not the kind of squirrel you’d want to hang around with for 86 minutes and surely you wouldn’t want you kids to, either. He’s about as bland as they come, and his supporting cast isn’t much better.

Andie is the loveable, always sees the good in people, type of character of the film. She’s like your conscience and is mainly there to remind everyone that there is a plot to follow, whether it’s finding food or not judging Surley too harshly. Her sidekick throughout this adventure is the dimwitted Grayson (Brendan Fraser), the so-called “hero” of the park who actually isn’t very heroic at all. The characters are all very one dimensional and don’t have much depth to them. It’s all straightforward and simplistic, and as a result, not very entertaining.

Another issue with The Nut Job is that it’s dated. South Korean superstar Psy was all the rage back in 2012 but having “Gangnam Style” appear predominantly in the film alongside an animated version of himself is just overdoing it. If one of the main selling points of the film is squirrels doing the dance then you’ve got a problem on your hands.

The Nut Job is a bland and humorless film that comes a little too late. While it may be borderline bearable for extremely young children, it will no doubt be pure boredom for the adults that accompany them.