2012

The gargantuan disaster epic 2012 is the most expensive comedy
ever made. The only problem is that the movie is billed as something considerably more dramatic and all of that comedy might be a tad unintentional. But as long as 2012 is viewed as something goofy, ridiculous, and completely hilarious, it's a pretty enjoyable ride. The movie's fun factor is due mostly to director Roland Emmerich's ability to make hyper-charged destruction really pop off the screen. That's about his only cinematic talent, but he's milked his ability for all its worth over his entire career and he's never made anything quite as gleefully over-the-top as this massive block of cheese.

Emmerich is no stranger to disaster cinema, having helmed such hit flicks as Independence Day (aliens attack Earth and angrily blow up lots of stuff) and The Day After Tomorrow (a new Ice Age arrives and angrily freezes lots of stuff). But as big as those movies are, 2012 is akin to Emmerich tossing both of them in a blender and exponentially increasing both the scope of the carnage and the stupidity of the situations. This is Emmerich firing on all silly cylinders, letting loose with a tsunami of idiocy matched only by his desire to entertain.

This wide-eyed approach to blockbuster entertainment posits Emmerich as an intriguing showman who clearly adores making the Earth a victim of digital obliteration. He's obviously having a lot of fun revisiting the same scenarios and his passion for destruction is somewhat, almost playfully, infectious. The destruction at work in 2012 is on a scale that has rarely been attempted before. Since the disaster concept calls for nothing less than the Earth's crust to start shifting all over the place, Emmerich is able to indulge his desire for destruction in rather spectacular fashion.

Yellowstone National Park suffers an enormous volcanic eruption, the Himalayas are drowned by towering walls of water, the entire continent of South America is rocked by devastating earthquakes, and Los Angeles quite literally disappears into the ocean. That's a lot of destruction, even by Emmerich's standards. But it's all here and the stunning effects work ensures that every ounce of visual excitement accompanies the various forms of earthly end. Most disaster movies would be happy to boast just one destructive weapon of a trio that includes tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, but 2012 gleefully employs them all.

Emmerich certainly loves action, but he also has a humorous weakness for sap-drenched drama. The good news is that his fondness for teary-eyed goodbyes and laughable speeches (punctuated by heartstring-tugging music!) ends up transforming the supposedly dramatic scenes into hilarious moments of comedy. Since 2012 is packed with a ludicrously large cast and a seemingly unending array of sentimental subplots, the movie offers many reasons to chuckle in between mouthfuls of popcorn.

The desire to laugh is only aided by the cliché-driven script penned by Emmerich and Harald Kloser. A bloated mess that gets out of hand somewhere in the first few pages, the script follows the adventures of one family (led by deadbeat dad Jackson Curtis, played by John Cusack, and his ex-wife, played by Amanda Peet) who attempt to outrun the impending apocalypse. Surrounding this main storyline is a colossal collection of subplots concerning the President of the United States (Danny Glover, delivering his lines as if he were a robot), the President's daughter (Thandie Newton, wearing a contrived look of sadness so static that it might as well be painted on her face), and a lovable scientist who wants to be friends with everyone (Chiwetal Ejiofer, delivering the closest thing to a convincing performance).

There are several more subplots, as well, but it is Jackson and his family who Emmerich and Kloser are most interested in. That is probably because they represent average Americans doing extraordinary things, a theme that the German-born Emmerich loves to explore. Jackson alone endures enough potentially fatal predicaments to last a lifetime, but he's forced to deal with them all in just a couple days. That's no small feat for a struggling writer who moonlights as a limo driver. On top of it all, he makes it look sort of easy! I guess the next time an apocalypse appears, I better call up John Cusack. If 2012 is any indication, he approaches the end of the world as if it were a slightly uncomfortable walk in the park.

Yes, Roland Emmerich loves to watch the world burn. And drown. And crack. He only knows how to make one kind of movie, but he's having so much fun playing with his expensive toys that it becomes rather easy to fall under his enthusiastic spell. He populates 2012 with a pile of stereotypical characters and relies on connect-the-dots storytelling to clumsily hold the ailing plot together. If the earthquakes in this movie register a ten on the Richter scale, then the clichés reach at least an eleven. It couldn't be any sillier, any wackier, any stupider. But all of this nonsense adds up to a very funny movie that entertains with its peppy preposterousness. Emmerich just wants to destroy the world for the umpteenth time and he succeeds in delivering the fun. Offering so many opportunities to laugh instead of cry, he has made a very enjoyable comedy, whether he knows it or not.