Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Michael Lukk Litwak
Starring: Zosia Mamet, Aristotle Athari, Danny Burstein, Arturo Castro, Okieriete
Onaodowan, Erin Darke, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Michael Chernus, Aparna
Nancherla, Matteo Lane
Over the past decade writer/director Michael Lukk Litwak has
released a series of visually impressive shorts. Among them is 2014's
The Life and Death of Tommy Chaos and Stacey Danger, a rom-com set against an elaborate sci-fi backdrop. Litwak has now
expanded upon that concept for his feature debut,
Molli and Max in the Future.
The titular pair meet cute when Molli (Zosia Mamet) crashes her
spacecraft into the hapless Max (Aristotle Athari) and agrees to
give him a lift to the planet city of Megalopolis. On the way they
bicker about their differing views on life – Molli is a spiritual type
while Max is a pragmatist – but their bickering soon turns to flirting
and subsequently Molli and Max begin
sort-of-but-not-quite-or-maybe-it-is-dating? Their courtship is cut
short however when Molli receives an invitation to join the legion of
demigod Moebius (Okieriete Onaodowan), a floating head sprouting
root-like tentacles.
Five years later Molli and Max bump into one another again. In the
intervening years Molli has gained various superpowers, like the ability
to fly, while Max has become a star of a sport that involves manning
giant robots which clobber each other in arenas. After insulting each
other they go their separate ways, only to cross paths once again four
years later. This time they confess to each other that their respective
lives aren't nearly as satisfying as they've portrayed them, and the two
agree to hang out.
What follows is really just another variation of movies like
Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally (or When
Harry Met Sall-E?), except this one is set against futuristic
Blade Runner-esque cityscapes and features flying cars, tentacled demigods and fish
people. Very little is actually made of the sci-fi conceit, save for one
clever segment in which Molli and Max employ the services of parallel
universe versions of themselves to see how it might turn out if they
tried dating each other. It's mostly just variations of scenarios we've
seen before as the two friends avoid taking the plunge and becoming
romantically involved.
As an effects showreel, Molli and Max in the Future will
likely prove an effective calling card for Litwak as a director. Using
the state of the art "The Volume" technique as seen on the
Star Wars TV show The Mandalorian, along with good old miniatures, Litwak has created a genuinely
impressive looking movie. But while that may be enough to impress in the
field of shorts, a feature length movie needs something more for the
audience to invest in. Athari is a current cast member of that
terminally unfunny American comedy institution
Saturday Night Live, and the movie often feels like a series of SNL skits strung together.
By the halfway point you'll likely have tired of the gimmick, as the
various scenarios just aren't funny enough, and the film's focus on
current issues, including a Donald Trump surrogate in the form of an
evil alien running for the post of Ruler of the Galaxy, gives it a short
shelf life.
The movie's biggest crutch is that it's difficult to care about whether
Molli and Max actually get together or not. There's no real chemistry
between the pair, and their scenes together often resemble two people
talking at one another rather than engaging in dialogue. He may have
made riveting shorts, but Litwak's feature debut is a bit of a patience
tester. The cars may fly but the running time sure doesn't.
