written by mark rosenthal and lawrence konner starring charlize theron , bill paxton , david paymer as reviewed by james brundage i'm beginning to get fed up . over my four years as a critic , the thing which has kept me going is the moderate balance of films . the good balances the bad . i try to see both in equal proportions . but disney's mighty joe young remake marks the fourth week in which i haven't seen a truly terrible movie . it's a backwards machismo , i suppose , the urge to see the things which you so loathe ; but i need to see a bad film every once in a while . and , you know what , mighty joe young doesn't qualify . far from being bad , mighty joe young is actually a family fun movie . it's enjoyable , appropriate , cute , cuddly , and all of those other things that i've been seeing in every movie since a bug's life . mighty joe young tracks a 2 , 000 pound gorilla in the wilds of africa that is taken to a reserve in . . . california ? . . . for safe-keeping . okay . a little unrealistic , but who ever said a kid's movie had to have the slightest hint of realism . the first half of the movie is a gorillas in the mist-esque hatred of poachers woman-of-the-wild motif . the second half is a straight up parody of king kong , awestruck onlookers and all . mark one down . i'm feeling relaxed . it is , as a point of fact , an extremely un-creative movie . but , as a vetern , i can say quite honestly that creativity doesn't count for as much as it should . so that saves mighty joe from my wrath , although my colleagues and cohorts and surely bashing this film at this very moment . this is not the film to take a girl on a date to . it's not the film for you . it's the film for you and your family . when you're right alongside your kid , all of the normal rights and wrongs slip away . the same thing happens when you watch a horror movie or an action flick . it becomes fun . all you have to do to enjoy mighty joe young is shut up and watch .
