What Kind Of Truck Is In The Movie Monster Trucks
Monster Trucks hits Blu-ray today. I liked it! It's an incredibly silly, yet oddly charming adventure about a squishy squid monster named Creech who climbs inside a truck and makes it drive. That's really all there is to it.
As I said in my theatrical review, "At long last, someone has combined H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos with the Transformers franchise. The result is Monster Trucks, a silly but surprisingly enjoyable piece of family fluff that gets by with its affable spirit. There's a lot of ironic detachment regarding this admittedly goofy premise: monster trucks that are literally trucks powered by monsters! No one will ever accuse this film of being in the same category as the thoughtful, geared-towards-all-ages fare that Pixar produces…The script (by Derek Connolly, with story credits attributed to three other writers, because it takes a lot of people to come up with an idea like this) is paper-thin, as are the bulk of the characters… But gosh darn it, I can't besmirch Monster Trucks much. It's never dull, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies."
Speaking of those paper-thin characters, I have decided to rank them in order of importance, because I am a man who lives to do important work. So without further ado, here is the official character ranking ofMonster Trucks. Spoilers follow.
14 & 15. Jake and Brianne
If you sawMonster Trucks you might've forgotten these characters are even in the movie, and who can blame you? Jake (who is so forgettable that the credits give him the parenthetical nickname "Letterman Kid" for the Letterman jacket he wears) is a bully who likes to mockMonster Trucks' hero Tripp (Lucas Till) because he doesn't have a sweet ride. Jake (played by the amazingly named Jedidiah Goodacre), meanwhile, cruises around in an expensive truck with his frowning girlfriend Brianne (Samara Weaving) at his side. Brianne clearly has had it up to here with Jake's horse shit, which gives her an advantage. Later in the film, when Tripp flat-out steals Jake's truck to repurpose it, Brianne watches from a window approvingly, which is also a bonus. But I don't think she even has any lines in this movie, so I can't give her character too much credit.
13. Sam Geldon
One of the more jarring aspects ofMonster Trucks is that Lucas Till's Tripp is supposed to be a teenager in high school, but he's clearly not (Lucas Till is 26). Meanwhile, Tripp's only real friend Sam is played by Tucker Albrizzi, whois a teenager (he's 17). Poor Sam just wants to be Tripp's buddy, but Tripp doesn't have much time for him. Not until the end of the film, where he uses Sam's father's car dealership as the official Monster Trucks Chop Shop. Oh, also, his butt crack shows up at one point and characters pause to mock it. Not cool, guys.
12. Mr. Weathers
Hey, Danny Glover is in this movie! He plays Mr. Weathers, Tripp's boss at the junkyard. Mr. Weathers is in a wheelchair, and I feel like there's a version ofMonster Trucks that has more to say about disabilities, because the film's main monster — Creech! — can't walk. Later, when Tripp alters a truck for him and Creech crawls inside, a character remarks approvingly, "It's like you made him a wheelchair!" But any more nuance or messaging beyond that ended up on the cutting room floor. Anyway, Danny Glover shows up for two scenes in this, and while it's always nice to see him, he doesn't have much to do.
11. Reece Tenneson
Reece Tenneson is the main bad guy inMonster Trucks, and he's played by Rob Lowe in a leather jacket. Reece's company is drilling for oil when they unleash a bunch of polite monsters, and Reece's first instinct is to cover it up and then later order the monsters killed. Boo, hiss! Morally, Reece should be at the bottom of this list, but the character is at leastslightlymore fleshed-out than the characters who rank below him, which is why he ends up here. Them's the brakes.
10. Tripp Coley
Tripp is the main character ofMonster Trucks, so you'd think he'd be at the top of the list, right? Wrong! Tripp is actually a big asshole, and he's needlessly rude to everyone around him — his mom, his mom's boyfriend, Sam, and the girl who is clearly crushing on him. But Tripp learns a valuable lesson, and that lesson is that monsters can make you into better people. As a character, Tripp is about as exciting as a plank of wood, and the fact that he's pushing 30 but still in high school is bonkers. But he has an arc, sort of, so I guess I won't put him dead-last.
9. Cindy Coley
Tripp's mom Cindy is played by the ever-dependable, always-underused Amy Ryan. Oh my god, Amy Ryan's agent, please — get her better work! Amy Ryan is in this film for approximately three minutes, and two of those minutes are spent silently waving while standing by a mailbox. Ishould rank her lower as character, but I like and respect Amy Ryan too much to do that.
8. Dr. Jim Dowd
Almost all the laughs inMonster Trucks come courtesy of Thomas Lennon, playing Dr. Jim Dowd. The not-so-good doctor works for Reece Tenneson, and even though he's spent years altering facts like a member of the Trump administration, he has a change of heart when the monsters show up. Jim is brave enough to defy Reece and help save the monsters, and he also throws up during the film's climactic chase scene. Seems like a cool guy.
7. Burke
This character shouldnot be in a kid's movie. At all. Holt McCallany's Burke is clearly a murderer — he's always wearing leather gloves, and he has a pretty scary knife and a cattle prod. He's Reece's enforcer, the guy called in to hurt (and, let's be honest, murder) people who get in Reece's way. There's nothing good about this character, save for McCallany's very committed performance. He isall in on playing a scary mercenary in a movie about playful monsters. The film is fully aware of how scary and mean Burke is, because at the end of the film he is literallydrowned in poison. R.I.P., Burke the Jerk. You got what you deserved. I hope your skeleton gets lonely.
6. Wade Coley
I toyed with making this character number one, because holy shit, this guy. Character-actor extraordinaire Frank Whaley plays Tripp's estranged father, Wade. Tripp thinks Reece's evil oil company ran Wade out of town, but he later discovers Wade is still around andworking for Reece. Wade's abandoned his family to live in a depressing trailer and make microwave hot wings. I want to know more about this guy! Why did he leave his family to live this horribly depressing life? Why, when Tripp shows up later looking for help, does Wade instantly sell his son out to the bad guys!? What the hell is Wade's deal? What a complex enigma! Maybe I should read the officialMonster Trucks movie novelization to learn the answers to these questions. Or maybe they're better off left a mystery.
5. Rick
Remember Barry Pepper? He's in this movie too! He plays Rick, the local sheriff. Tripp hates Rick, because Rick is dating Tripp's mom, Cindy. But instead of being a stereotypical jerk stepfather-type character, Rick is kind of a nice guy. He also has a Howard Hughes-like tic: he's over-protective of his police jeep. He even gets upset during a chase scene when the jeep gets dirty. Folks, he really loves that vehicle. But Rick learns to let go when he needs to spring to action. That's what heroes do, folks. They rise above their fears. Creech bless you, Rick.You should've been the main character, not Tripp.
3 & 4. Creech's Parents
While Creech is out cruising around with Tripp, two other monsters are in captivity, being studied by Dr. Dowd. These monsters spend most of their time in containment units, drinking oil and looking sad. In the film's big climax, however, they get their own trucks to climb into and ride around, and much jumping and flipping occurs. And then we learn that these monsters are, in fact, Creech's parents. It's heartwarming! I mean it!
2. Meredith
Meredith is a brainy nerd who has the hots for Tripp. I'm not sure why, since she's smarter and cooler than he is. Like all the characters in this film, there's not much to Meredith, but Jane Levy is such a pro that she breathes life into the part. Levy kills in one particular scene where she mistakenly thinks she's helping Tripp steal a truck, and her eyes light up with mischievous glee. This character has been stuck in her goody-goody persona for so long that when the hint of criminality arises, she blossoms. Also worth noting: Meredith mentions her father several times, and even takes Tripp back to her father's barn workshop. Cinematic conditioning makes us assume that at any moment, Meredith's father will show up and it will be some sort of big reveal. I actually kept expecting a twist where it turns out Rob Lowe's character is Meredith's pop. But no. Meredith's dadnever shows up. Which makes me believe that Meredith's dad is long dead, and she's possibly deranged. Or maybe he's alive and well and hanging out with Tripp's dad in the depressing trailer, chowing down on some microwave wings.
1. Creech
Alright, enough fucking around. I know what you came here for, and it's Creech. Creech, the kind of cute, kind of scary monster ofMonster Trucks. He drinks oil! He chases a dog! He glows! He's god damn amazing. I've heard rumors that early Creech designsterrified test audiences of children, so the filmmakers had to scramble and soften his look up a bit. He's still kind of creepy looking, but he's also kind of adorable. I dare you to not melt a little when Creech wraps his tentacles around a barrel of oil and drinks from it like a baby bottle. Sure, you may briefly be reminded of America's unquenchable thirst for oil and the wars we start and ecological damage we cause to get it, but also you'll think, "Aww, this is sweet. Creech is the best." Thank you, Creech, for making us laugh about love again.
What Kind Of Truck Is In The Movie Monster Trucks
Source: http://cutprintfilm.com/features/monster-trucks-characters-ranked/
