Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021 | USA | 106 mins | Sarah Smith, Jean-Philippe Vine, Octavio E. Rodriguez)
Barney is a typical kid… sort of. He’s just as normal as everyone else except his family can’t afford the shiny new toy that’s taking over, Bebot. All he wants for his birthday is to “be like everyone else” and join the Bebot family. In some kind of kismet moment, his family manages to get one that fell of the truck. That’s not a euphemism, it literally did; so Barney’s new best friend Ron is just a little bit off, but that’s what makes him special. He can’t connect to the rest of the world (through wifi) like everyone else’s so they just get a chance to have fun. Through this new friendship and their somewhat ridiculous adventures Barney discovers what’s really important and it’s not being the most liked picture on the web or having the most virtual friends.
Just like its real-world counterpart (iPhone) the Bebot has a distinctly negative effect on most of the kids that own one. A few use it for good (the nerdy science kid creates incredible presentations for class), but for the most part it’s just another way to make kids feel more isolated and craving attention than ever. I’ll admit, when I saw the ad for the movie I wanted a Bebot myself, they look SO FUN, but I guess that’s the point. Pull the kiddos and families in with something that looks adorable and marketable in the real world with the cuteness of Disney. Once you’re in the theater you realize it’s a commentary on a couple of ills plaguing our society. For one, the way kids rely on technology and validation from their peers online to feel good about themselves. And two, how tech companies manipulate both kids and adults into buying more and more, always wanting the newest, best thing regardless of how much money it costs or how it’ll effect us long-term.
I like the concept. I also agree with a lot of what they’re getting at. However, there are several glaring plot holes and an annoyingly bad understanding of how technology works that gives me pause. At one point it discusses “the cloud” as a physical place: I mean I know that there are specific servers that hold the data for a cloud but I cringed every time they did this. Also, the entire server is shut down, yet the love of one character for another magically brings a tiny bit of code back to life? Sorry, I only have a certain level of suspended disbelief and this one jumped beyond that. It could very well be due to my computer nerdery and that I build websites for a living, but I’m pretty sure a large majority of tech users have the basic understanding to get annoyed along with me (thank you Hackers, Johnny Mnemonic, and War Games … OK, just kidding). I just feel like they could have tried harder to find a way out of the dramatic conflict than fake computer wizardry.
One last issue I have to discuss is Barney’s Bulgarian heritage. Rather than celebrating this unique and interesting part of his character, perhaps even utilizing it to create depth, they simply stuck it in for comedic effect. His grandmother had a pet goat and used a cleaver to cut up meat for their meals. Having a culturally diverse background is what makes characters compelling and shouldn’t be used for laughs. It’s disrespectful and dismissive and Disney has a sad history of doing so… I was hoping we were past that.
All of these things being said, it is a dang cute movie and there are genuinely funny and heartwarming moments between Barney and his pal Ron. Having Zack Galifianakis voice his robot pal is kind of perfect; while hijinks ensue throughout the movie, Galifianakis plays it down just enough to allow Barney’s character to take center stage most of the time, which is how it should be.
Ron’s Gone Wrong arrives in theaters nationwide on 10/22.