Movie: Robot and Frank
Rating:

Frank is an old man and a retired cat burglar. His adult children worry about him living alone – he occasionally wanders off, he’s not eating right or taking care of himself, he’s crotchety.  In the near future, the early-adopter types are choosing human-sized android robots to care for their elderly loved ones instead of live-in nurses. And that is what Frank’s son does – buys him a robot companion to (forgive the pun) reboot his life. Turns out, between being programmed to garden and give enemas, the robot is also a pretty good burglar. Friendship ensues.

There have been a lot of great movies out of Sundance this year, but Robot and Frank is top of the list. Every facet of it is brilliant, starting with the cast. Frank is played by Frank Langella – an Academy Award winning actor who:  1. Is fom New Jersey (holla!) and 2. Played Skelator in Masters of the Universe.  So right off the bat, awesome. His kids are played by Liv Tyler and James Marsden. And then you have Susan Sarandon in there, playing the older-lady love interest of Frank who inadvertently sets him and his robot on their path to thievery. Peter Saasgard voices Robot which is adorable.

The script is whip smart and funny. The plot is original, like a fleshed-out version of asking Siri where to hide a body. Robot and Frank is a romantic sci-fi comedy about friendship and a heist. That is a lot of things to be all at once, but it blends really well. I would imagine it throws in some tear-jerkers for good measure and I will be damned if the bonds between an old man and his robot don’t tug at my heart strings just a bit.

Robot and Frank hits theaters August 24th.