Based on a trues story? Hmm....

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2010)

I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem. It's such a simple story but has a big impact on the lives of the characters. The stop animation has that new-generation of clean and smooth action similar to Coraline and it it very well executed here.
So the story in a nutshell is about a dumpy little girl in Australia whose life is made miserable by a Sherry-saturated mother and garage-dwelling taxidermy hobbyist father who by their lack of interest, leave poor Mary to her own imagination and devices. Meanwhile, in New York, we have an obese apostate named Max living a hermetic shut-in life of chocolate hot dogs, Overeaters Anonymous, and Aspergerian perplexity about the world around him. Mary, seeking answers to the questions of life, happens to write to Max after having ripped his address information from a US phone book during one of Mary's mother's "borrowing" episodes. And so begins their comedic pen-pal friendship through the course of nearly 20 years.
We see Mary grow and we see Max getting more and more obese. There are many moments, often funny, where Max and Mary are helping each other through their writing. I know it's just a story but how does Max NOT become diabetic? Sometimes the absurdity reminds me of Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit characters but a little more hip. While the story is not intended to be a comedy, there are some very original and funny comic elements, especially those of poor Henry the goldfish.
Anyhow, we later see Mary's futile attempt to understand Max's Asperger's through the lens of wanting to "fix the world", as many a young adult wants to do and we see a rift come between the two as Max, content to accept his life but resentful for Mary wanting to "fix" him, recedes into himself.
There is a resolution to their rift and the ending is rather touching. The story was very well delivered and is not made to be unbelievable. Look for this one to win awards very soon. Find any way you can to watch this one and get the bragging rights this wonderful movie deserves. Well worth you time.