Movie Description
Glen Morgan's WILLARD stars Crispin Glover in the title role as a socially awkward loner who lives with his ailing mother (Jackie Burroughs) in a decrepit old house. Trapped between duties at home and working at a dreary company formerly owned by his deceased father, Willard leads a bleak and routine existence until he befriends Socrates, an albino rat living in the basement. This new friendship leads to an affinity for the ever-growing rodent population under his house, and soon Willard discovers the rats will do anything he tells them. When Willard is pushed too far by his bullying boss (R. Lee Ermey), he decides to use his four-legged companions to get revenge.
A perfect pairing of actor and character, Glover is ideal as Willard in this Burton-esque remake of the 1971 cult horror film. Widely known as an introvert and eccentric in real life, Glover expertly transfers his quirks to Willard in a giddily affected performance that ranges from subdued to outraged. Ermey (of FULL METAL JACKET) and Laura Elena Harring (of MULHOLLAND DRIVE) provide excellent support as his dictatorial boss and concerned coworker, respectively, but the true costars of this thriller are two rodents, the affectionate Socrates and the imposing, cat-sized Ben. Although some of the rat scenes are rendered with animatronics or CGI animation, the majority of Glover's scenes with Socrates and Ben involve real animal actors who convey distinct personalities and factor heavily into the story. The clever and darkly comic script even manages to bring in an element of the original film by featuring photos and paintings of Bruce Davison, star of the earlier film, as Willard's dead father. And be sure to listen for both a young Michael Jackson and Glover himself singing WILLARD's adopted theme song, "Ben."
| Credits | | Producer: | Bill Carraro, James Wong | | Cast: | Crispin Glover, Jackie Burroughs, Laura Elena Harring, R. Lee Ermey |
| Details | | Edition: | Spanish Subtitled |
Notes
Theatrical Release Date: March 14, 2003
Editorial Reviews
"...Nobody plays a sick twist better than Crispin Glover....Want your skin to crawl? This one's for you..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (04/03/2003)
"...[Glover] plays it straight and intense...building each scene to an elegant Gloverish crescendo of fear and loathing and operatic hysteria..."
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman (03/21/2003)
"...[Glover] is a sympathetic Willard; his panicked grief gives the movie a kick....WILLARD also has a rapid-fire Ermey performance that nearly burns up the screen..."
Box Office - Paul Clinton (05/01/2003)
"...The human actors are good..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (10/03/2003)
"Glen Morgan's direction has the quirky stylisation of a kid's movie -- think MOUSEHUNT gone seriously wrong."
Uncut - Damien Love (10/01/2004)
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