GET OUT

GET OUT

I don't think Jordan Peele has mentioned it, but you get a feeling that the concept of his story, "Get Out" is ripped from an event in his life and not a rip off of "The Stepford Wives".

In his directorial debut is protagonist Chris Washington (effectively portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya) is about a black guy who visits the rural dwelling parents of his white girl friend for the first time. You can imagine the idea was conjured during a visit to his wife Chelsea Peretti's parents in Contra Costa County outside of San Francisco.

Produced by Jason Blum's budget wise Blumhouse productions, it comes in under the "mystery/horror" genre, but it is far from scary as it is far too predictable. But it is engaging as an examination of racial interactions even when something dubious is pre-planned.

In the story Chris goes with his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) parents house for the first, ignoring the warnings of his best friend Rod's (LilRel Howery) advise. During the drive out to the rural upper echelon home, Rose tries to allay Chris's anxiety about her white parents. They aren't racists.

When they arrive, Chros immediately notices that all the servants are black and rather placid. Your immediately thought is "The Stepford Wives" or a bodysnatchers scenario.

Rose's mom Missy (Catherine Keener) is a psychiatrist who specializes in hypnotism for cigarette cessation. The father, Dean (Bradley Whitford), is a successful neurosurgeon. Of course they make a perfect couple.

Things are strange but explainable until Chris notices a guy he new who went missing a while back. Andrew (played by Lakeith Stanfield) was some sort of athlete before he disappeared, and now he is here completely different from the way Chris remembers him.

The best parts of the film are the build-up; when Chris is trying to figure out what is different about these white people. There is a lot that rings true as Rose and her parent explain how they enjoy black people and, save for the eerie atmosphere don't offer any tangible reason for Chris's tension.

Building the tension is well executed, however once we find out what is going on, the payoff is very disappointing. There should have been more resistance, more blood, more creepiness.

Kaluuya does a good job of delivering his role, though you never get the feeling he is actually afraid of anything. Williams is simple and sexy as the girl who could easily talk a guy into visiting her crazy parents out in the boonies. Keener is solid but underused, her psychiatrist role should have been much more ominous - perhaps nearing supervillian in nature.

Howery provides one hundred percent of the humor as he does his imitation of a TSA officer in the vein of Anthony Anderson. Stephen Root offers up a decent creepiness as a party guest.

"Get Out" is hardly scary and not a comedy, it's a fairly well conceived thriller that provides an interesting commentary on race relations with humorous moments. -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON

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