Vanilla

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2020)

Another highly ranked "good, but not great" flick.
Every creative choice here seems to reinforce the idea of plainness. The staging, camera work, blocking, acting, set design, plot progression and execution are all plain. This must be the appeal to middle America.
As for me, I usually appreciate a little more daring, a little more creativity in my films but it's easy to see why so many families can sit together and watch it every Thanksgiving.
Not to be disparaging, sometimes audiences crave a film that is completely without pretense. But I need a little more if you expect me to sit there for 3 hours.