The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Quick Review)

When there’s a family film focusing on a kid or kids, nine out of ten times the kid(s) will not be its selling point.  Sometimes it’s the premise, other times it’s the adult actors starring alongside the kids, and occasionally it’s both.  The House with a Clock in Its Walls is among the middle group.  Jack Black and Cate Blanchett—both endearing actors to me, yet not until now did I realize how much I wanted them together in the same film.

These two are an unusual combo, frequently found on opposite ends of cinema.  Jack Black is usually found in comedies as the lovable goofball, while Cate Blanchett is found more often in Oscar-nominated dramas as the dignified noble.  They have both crossed similar sections before—both voiced characters in DreamWorks animations and played roles in Peter Jackson films—yet this is the first time (that I can recall) the two have appeared in the same film.  And they play off each other surprisingly well as characters Jonathan (Black) and Florence (Blanchett)—bickering close friends, mentors in magic, and family to the film’s young protagonist Lewis (Owen Vaccaro).  There’s a scene where the three play a game of poker; there’s nothing quite noteworthy about the scene storytelling-wise, but just the concept of a child playing poker with Jack Black and Cate Blanchett is entertaining enough for me as it is.

As for the film itself, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is an entertaining fantasy film filled with charm, comedy, light drama, and some notably sinister material.  Yeah, the film can get surprisingly dark at times.  It’s not often a family film has a major plot point involving Satanic deals and demons lifted straight out of Christian scriptures.  It’s made even stranger when the same film also features continuous toilet humor such as a topiary lion that poops all over Lewis.

Far better humor in the film is when the writers utilize a bit of black comedy.  There’s a scene where Lewis falls asleep while studying acidic magic, the residue magic melting half of a nearby teddy bear.  The scene is given a humorously cute tone, however, as Jonathan peeps in and awws at his sleeping nephew before putting him to bed.  The House with a Clock in its Walls is fun, adventurous, and overall harmless—as long as you’re alright with the antagonists being associated with literal Christian demons—family film with touching messages about family and being oneself.