Tanya’s Score: Okay*
Rated: 18A (for excessive gore – but honestly I feel it’s better suited to 14A)
Starring: Paul Blart
Plot: A 13-year-old girl (Lulu Wilson) with nothing to lose takes a stand against a group of escaped convicts terrorizing her family.
Tanya’s Verdict: My biggest beef with Becky is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. The initial filming with comparison shots tracking the convicts and then Becky leads to a sense of foreboding that their paths will soon cross. There’s a feeling of contrived dread – “Something bad’s gonna happen” – kind of like when watching Funny Games. But then, things get a bit comical (ala You’re Next) – but not too comical – I mean – should I be laughing? I’m not sure. Then it treads into absurdity with gratuitous violence little better than what university film students with a $200 budget could pull off.
It also doesn’t help that Becky’s father is an unlikeable jerk who doesn’t seem to care a whit for his grief-stricken kid. And then there’s Becky herself – her actions and reactions just don’t ring true of any 13-year-old girl I’ve ever known. My daughter summed up her behaviour as Kevin McAllister on steroids. But I’ll take Home Alone any day over Becky – as over-the-top and unbelievable as it may also be – at least it has a few more laughs.
*Four score descriptions: Sh**; Okay; Good; Great