Bear witness to the power of nice
Paddington 2’s endearing charm and theme of kindness is warming our cold, cold hearts
You know how many children were seated in my row at a Friday showing of Paddington 2? Not one.
Sure, there were some kids around, but this was a theatre primarily filled with adults who had reserved plush armchairs to see a movie about a bear who wears a parka and loves marmalade.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised. The critical juggernaut, a sequel to 2014’s Paddington, surpassed fellow darling Lady Bird last week to become the best-reviewed movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s become somewhat of a meme on Twitter, and IndieWire critic David Ehrlich went so far as to rate Sundance films using a scale of Paddington images. Its popularity even led Russia’s Ministry of Culture to postpone the movie’s release in an attempt to eliminate box office competition for a locally produced film. So why the passionate response? Perhaps it’s because for 95 minutes, the earnest bear warms our cold, cold hearts. You never stop rooting for Paddington, likely because he would never stop rooting for you.
The movie, directed by Paul King, follows the Peruvian bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) on his adventures through London, where he lives with the Brown family. He charms almost every neighbour with his kindness, and his mission is to buy his Aunt Lucy a rare book for her 100th birthday. When washed-up actor Phoenix Buchanan, brilliantly played by Hugh Grant, steals the book before Paddington can save up for it, you’re livid. How dare he hurt the bear we adore?
The police pin the crime on Paddington and he winds up in jail. But he keeps spirits up by introducing his fellow prisoners to Aunt Lucy’s delicious marmalade recipe.
The positive vibes Paddington emits could rejuvenate our nation. He’s the antithesis of snarky social media users, instead making you want to hug everyone you meet.
Paddington 2 can tell us a lot about how critical reception is perceived. The movie, a success in the United Kingdom, grossed a modest US$15 million stateside during its opening weekend but then held steady, only dropping to US$8.2 million in its second week. Jeff Goldstein, who oversees domestic distribution at Warner Bros., told Deadline that “given the rare 100 per cent Certified Fresh on RT as well as the A CinemaScore (given by audiences), we are encouraged for strong holds and a long play.”
It’s an odd statement from a studio executive, considering the drama over Rotten Tomatoes last summer. Several executives ripped the website, The New York Times reported, saying it has “a seemingly loose definition of who qualifies as a critic.”
It might seem silly to compare Paddington to films like Casablanca or Citizen Kane. But Rotten Tomatoes has a way to do that, via a list that’s adjusted for the number of accessible reviews, and it doesn’t hold just a few negative reviews against you — Paddington 2 ranks No. 11, just above The Godfather.
Though ineligible for this year’s Academy Awards, Paddington landed three BAFTA nominations this month: outstanding British film, adapted screenplay and supporting actor for Grant.
It could be that critics were just following Paddington’s example. Whenever he struggles to do what’s right, he repeats a lesson from Aunt Lucy that we would all do well to remember in a time of divisiveness and vulgarity: “If we’re kind and polite, the world will be right.”