Hop, starring Russell Brand and James Marsden

Let's just get it out of the way: Hop is not a good movie. There. I said it.   Hop is so bad it makes you mad over stuff that you probably shouldn't get mad over. I spent the whole time thinking about the realism of Alvin and the Chipmunks by comparison. That's not a good thing. Especially when the director is Tim Hill, the guy who brought Alvin and his bros to the big screen just a couple of years ago. Hop is disturbingly unfunny and misguided, so bad that the only way to save it would be if it ended with a boiling pot of rabbit stew.

Apparently the Easter Bunny steals his tricks from Santa Claus. Rather than bringing cash to the children of the world, he flies around in a space ship and drops off candy and Cadbury creme eggs on people's doorsteps. That's where the film basically starts, with a young Fred O'Hare(get it!!?) spotting the Easter Bunny as he delivers to the kid's front porch. Years later, Fred(James Marsden) is a grown man, still not sure if he saw what he really saw. He's also a lazy bum, living at home with his sister(Kaley Cuoco) and parents. Over on Easter Island(>sigh<), we're finding out that the powers and responsibilities of the Easter Bunny are passed down from father to son. The new kid, E.B.(voiced by Russell Brand), doesn't want the job. He'd rather go off and see the world, play his drums, and do whatever it is that teenage rabbits do. Eat lettuce, I guess. On the day of his crowning, E.B. runs away, literally being crashed into by Fred. At first properly disturbed by the idea of a talking rabbit in human clothes, Fred suddenly sees verification that what he saw as a child wasn't a dream.

Fred and EBs adventures cross paths with a number of celebrities who clearly needed the credit on their resume or a paycheck. In one of the film's more idiotic bits, Fred takes EB to an audition judged by David Hasselhoff("The Hoff!!"). Then moments later, the ridiculously inept script has Fred complaining about how he can't take EB anywhere because....he's a talking rabbit. The entire movie plays out in such a ludicrous manner, with Fred repeatedly trying to convince the bunny to shut up, when the whole situation could be diffused if he'd stop taking him out in public. Absurd. In Alvin and the Chipmunks we can accept them being public figures and the world not caring because the stories commit to that idea. Hop won't make up it's mind.

Nothing in the film feels original or inspired. Hop was produced and is frequently touted as being from the producers of Despicable Me, and as if to prove if there's a little army of yellow "minions"(chickens really) running the candy operations on Easter Island. Poor James  Marsden, so funny in films like Sex Drive and Death at a Funeral, is left to handle jelly bean poop. Yes, that's his highlight. Jelly bean poop. Only Russell Brand appears to be having a good time, and he probably wanted to be in this terrible film the least. 

Tim Hill knows how to handle the CGI/live-action stuff pretty well, and yes EB looks pretty realistic. The candy factory is like something out of a Willy Wonka fever dream it's so cool. It's just too bad the entire film couldn't have been set there.  Avoid this one if you can. If the kiddies need a distraction go see Diary of a Wimpy Kid.