Abducted as an infant, 25-year-old James (Mooney) was raised in a bunker by Ted and April (Hamill and Adams), told the outside air was unbreathable and educated through weekly VHS episodes of Brigsby Bear. So when he's rescued, his real parents Greg and Louise (Walsh and Watkins) are strangers, as is his little sister Aubrey (Simpkins). He gets help from Detective Vogel (Kinnear) and therapist Emily (Danes). And when Aubrey's friend Spencer (Lendeborg) shows interest in Brigsby, James hatches a plan to make a movie to cap off the long-running series Ted made for him.

The film opens with an episode of Brigsby, revealing a hilariously cheesy 70s-style kids' programme about a superhero bear battling sci-fi nuttiness. But of course for James it was his whole world, so the story unfolds as a fish-out-of-water odyssey about a young man with cultural references no one else can possibly understand. And since he learned pretty much everything he knows from Brigsby, he's unwilling to let him go, no matter how hard everyone pushes him.

Mooney gives James a superb mix of nerdy obsession and wide-eyed curiosity, allowing the audience to see that making this movie is probably the best therapy he could have, especially as it helps him make good friends. The supporting cast members all create nicely rounded characters who believably have their own lives into which they're trying to integrate this stranger. The standout is Kinnear, whose cocky cop is nursing thespian ambitions.

Both the script and direction are packed with sharply witty touches that continually provoke knowing laughter. And as James' enthusiasm begins to rub off on the people around him, they realise that they need to take him for who he is rather than trying to turn him suddenly into someone he should be. It's a superb message, nicely woven into the fabric of the story rather than shouted loudly. And above all, the film is a collection of characters who are so loveable that we never want to leave them.

themes, language, drugs

22.Sep.17