A limp, tame, not-particularly-original attempt at satire

Rating: 4/10 (28 December 2019)

Let's cut right to the chase: Jojo Rabbit is every bit as original and effective a satire as Hogan's Heroes. It takes precisely the same approach to the Nazis, broadly caricaturing them as bumbling idiots and two-dimensional bullies. So it's no surprise that JoJo suffers from exactly the same problem as Hogan's Heroes: there's nothing real or threatening or genuinely sinister about these Nazis. They're just buffoons. Perhaps JoJo is marginally more daring in going so far as to depict Hitler himself, but Waititi's Fuhrer is as flimsy and fey as Mel Brook's take on him in Springtime For Hitler - only without the biting, derisive satire and the consistent hilarity. How funny you find JoJo Rabbit will likely depend on whether you also find The Three Stooges and Road Runner cartoons laugh-out-loud funny, for that's the level of most of what passes for humour here. If this is what passes for "comedy genius" and 10 out of 10 film-making in the 21st century, then heaven help us all.