Warning: Spoilers ahead
You would never guess that the actress who took “Captain Marvel” higher, further, and faster failed to get “Unicorn Store” off the ground.
This Netflix original movie focuses on whimsical failed art student Kit (Brie Larson, also in her directorial debut). Kit lives in her parents’ basement (the delightful duo of Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack) and, deciding that she needs to grow up fast, takes a temp job at a dull office. One day at work, she receives an extravagant letter inviting her to “The Store.”
At this store, she is greeted by an eccentric salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) promising to fulfill her childhood dream of owning a unicorn. Throughout the movie, Kit needs to prove she is worthy to own this unicorn. She enlists the help of hardware store employee Virgil (Mamoudou Athie) for the first requirement of building a proper home for the mythical creature.
“Unicorn Store” isn’t bad movie, but it isn’t a good movie either – which is incredibly frustrating. It’s unclear whether the movie’s main message is about holding onto to the purity and wonder of childhood or learning to accept life’s changes. Or who knows, maybe it’s both. Larson’s Kit is the prime example of this message. She staggers the line of being shockingly naïve and a wise free spirit.
The film includes a forced subplot of Kit’s boss providing her with unwanted attention and tiptoeing over the line of sexual harassment. At one point, Kit tries to confirm with Virgil that a man opening the door for her so he can smell her hair is normal, because some men are just old- fashioned like that. But on the flipside, near the end of the film, Kit delivers a monologue on the importance of keeping a little magic present in our lives. As an actress, Larson plays well into Kit’s childlike qualities. But as a director, she is never quite sure if Kit’s childlike wonder is supposed to be a reflection of Kit’s stunted mental maturity, or a sweet reminder to keep the child in us alive.
“Unicorn Store” seems to find its footing in its very last scene. The Salesman informs Kit she is worthy of her unicorn, and he is finally waiting for her at The Store. Kit tearfully embraces her unicorn, and we learn the creature was a symbol of Kit’s loneliness as a child. But as Kit has made friends and gained confidence in her ability to make it in the adult world, she decides the unicorn should go to someone who really needs it. Larson delivers a truly heartwarming moment.
It’s a shame Larson waited until the final scene to reveal the heart of “Unicorn Store.” The film delivers on great performances from a star-studded cast. If Larson had landed on the tone and the message of the film earlier on, “Unicorn Store” could have had the potential to be a sweet, funny and enduring film.
-by Brynne Ramella
