Legoland hits pop culture targets with wit, well-timed physicality and strong acting Times Colonist Rating Jacob Richmond's comedy Legoland is a sort of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for teenagers. Like the drug-gobbling madmen in Hunter S. Thompson's famous chronicle, the oddball adolescents in Legoland also take a savage journey to the heart of the North American dream. And, as with Fear and Loathing, the trip is both grotesque and hilarious. Celine Stubel plays Penny, a happy social outcast (schoolmates call her a lesbian) who wears a Catholic schoolgirl's uniform. She's joined by her ever-present brother Ezra (Amitai Marmorstein), who augments his own schoolboy uniform with long white stockings and a black cape. |
Persecuted at school for selling Ezra's prescription drugs (Ritalin and Dexedrine), the pair hop a Greyhound bus to take an extended tour of the U.S. Gleefully, Penny and Ezra continue their practice of pill-peddling to finance visits to tourist spots such as Seattle's Space Needle, all the while devouring McDonald's Happy Meals and compiling a list of endangered animal species for each state. Penny, however, is also on a personal quest – she wants to meet a pop idol called Johnny Moon. Richmond, who co-directed with Britt Small, views North American pop culture with a mixture of affection and absolute horror. On one level, we're appalled as these teens – both sweet and naive at the core – are seemingly corrupted as they somersault through the soulless detritus of modern American life. At the same time, one suspects Ezra (a monotonal weirdo who takes everything in stride) and Penny (who's determinedly optimistic and resilient) will not only survive, but prosper. Each of these characters has genuine heart, and that is what elevates Legoland above other satire treading similar ground. It helps that each actor is accomplished and well-cast, so much so that it's impossible to imagine anyone else playing these roles. |
On Thursday night Marmorstein displayed a canny sense of comic timing as he deadpanned his way though the proceedings. A tiny actor with long, curly hair and big goggly glasses, he seems a cross between Woody Allen, Stewie from Family Guy and every junior high nerd you've ever known. Stubel, confidently playing the keystone role, manages to mix sunny ebullience with a beguiling, childlike quality that suits her character perfectly. The direction is excellent. This is a very visual, physical play. The surrealness of the script is mirrored by the non-naturalistic stage work. Ezra and Penny continually do funny, synchronized gestures and stances to underscore the funny dialogue. Such choreography is executed sharply, and with tremendous energy, giving the proceedings a sense of relentless inevitability, like a kamikaze plane plummeting to earth. Legoland might set its sights on targets that land in the cross-hairs of every intelligent, free-thinking adolescent. However, the braininess and original touches in Richmond's script – combined with superior acting and direction – make this one well worth seeking out. |