Movie Review - Escape from Tomorrow

Escape from Tomorrow (2013)

Starring Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Jack Dalton, Daniele Safady, Annet Mahendru, Alison Lees-Taylor, and Stass Klassen

Directed by Randy Moore

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I can fully acknowledge that part of the reason I found Escape from Tomorrow oddly intriguing is the fact that I'm a Disney nut.  Then again, considering the fact that I am a Disney nut, I could have very easily despised Escape from Tomorrow since Randy Moore's film was shot in secret in Walt Disney World and Disneyland and paints the company in a slightly sardonic light.  There's no denying that this experimental film is out there, weird, and unusually unique, but the Disney side of things gives the audience a nearly universal textual basis of which its oddness can sit and marinate.

As the film opens, Jim (Roy Abramsohn) is standing on the balcony of the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World and is told by his boss via a phone call that he has been fired.  Not wanting to ruin his family's final day at the Happiest Place on Earth, Jim, his wife Emily (Elena Schuber) and their two kids Sara and Elliot (Katelynn Rodriguez and Jack Dalton) trek into the Magic Kingdom where Jim becomes a bit too enamored with two French girls (Daniele Safady and Annet Mahendru) who are MUCH too young for him to be eyeing.  These two girls keep popping up throughout the day and as Jim's obsession with tracking them down grows, the "real" world slowly begins to fall apart for him.

I must remind you that at least 65% of the film was shot onsite at Orlando's Magic Kingdom and Epcot or Anaheim's Disneyland.  So while the above summary may not seem all that odd, consider the fact that this was secretly filmed and I give Randy Moore quite a bit of credit for being able to accomplish this task.  One must also keep in mind that although the above doesn't seem odd, the remaining 35% that wasn't filmed onsite at a Disney location is quite trippy.  Let's just say that the final thirty minutes of this thing go off the tracks and you're either onboard or you're not.  Because of my fascination with the previous hour, I stuck with the film, but I can totally understand those who never even made it to the last act.  This one's an odd duck (and, yes, Donald makes an appearance), but I had a bit of fun with it.

The RyMickey Rating:  B