Gloria. She’s a recovering alcoholic by day, but has a Kaiju monster alter ego who smashes buildings and manifests by night. Meet Oscar. He manifests as a raging Kaiju monster by night too, but is still a raging human monster by day. In fact, he’s such a product of toxic masculinity that it’s unnerving to watch him play the ‘nice guy card’ one too many times on his vulnerable friend, Gloria to gain her trust and get out of the friend zone with her. He also exerts his macho personality over her when rejected.
“Colossal” is a character study, but also a study of how toxic masculinity is normalised by society. It’s been normalised to such an extent that the boundaries between love and control have become blurred beyond recognition; this leads to the rise of toxic and abusive relationships between not only romantic couples but even childhood friends.
Exploring Power Dynamics Between Men and Women
The movie also explores power dynamics between men and women; especially via characters such as the manipulative Oscar and Gloria’s boyfriend; they both exercise their power over a vulnerable Gloria by using her own insecurities and her inability to control her alcoholism and ‘party girl tendencies’ against her.
While Gloria’s condescending boyfriend expects her to behave in a certain way as a ‘good girlfriend’ should, what she really requires is his help and understanding to overcome her problems—not his judgement and possessive demeanor. The question eventually arises whether she will be able to control the metaphorical monster within who threatens to bring her crashing down, while also fighting off monsters like Oscar who try to overpower and trample her or use her flaws to emotionally manipulate her.
Jason Sudeikis in “Colossal.” (Photo: Toy Fight Productions).
“Colossal” does a great job at tackling toxic masculinity, veiled sexism, and misogyny in society creatively and without any preachiness. It strikes the right balance between sci-fi, fantasy, and dark comedy and most importantly as a social commentary.
A Great Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis
The movie further benefits from great performances from the versatile Anne Hathaway who holds fort as the vulnerable Gloria who grows strong and resilient as the story progresses. Jason Sudeikis was a surprise package as Oscar—a toxic cocktail of a friend, a spurned lover, and eventually the antagonist of the tale. The “Ted Lasso” star—who was previously typecast in comic roles as ‘the sleazy womaniser’—showcases great dramatic chops here. Through his body language and subtle changes in demeanor and facial expressions he oozes ‘Mr. Nice guy’ trope energy in the first half and toxic machismo energy in the second half. The supporting cast turn in favourable performances too. The movie also benefits from a highly satisfying climax and well-coordinated CGI action sequences.
“Colossal” is an unsung movie that delivers a punch about the need to topple over patriarchal beliefs, and deconstruct toxic masculinity. It shows us evolving as humans rather than letting the monster within empower us, and is thus definitely worth watching.
“Colossal” is available to watch Hulu, Kanopy, Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, and YouTube.
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