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Inside the Arctic Circle, a tribe of Inuit witness the ice melting more than it ought to, so they send one of theirs, Theo (Theo Ikummaq) down South to talk to the South's "elders" to make them help stop this development. Why Theo? Because he's the only one who speaks at least some English. So Theo, who has never been anywhere South, heads for New York - but his initial search for the elders only leads him to an old people's home, and it's not long before a couple of thugs take him for an easy-to-rob tourist. And they almost succeed, too, but are stopped in the nick of time by homeless Bruce Lee aficionado Chloe (Dakota Johnson), who somehow has taken an innocent liking in Theo and takes him under her wing - and in return, Theo lets her and her friends Tyler (Ashley Springer) and "king of the streets" Mr. Sweet (André De Shields) stay at his tiny apartment - also because he doesn't need all that space anyways. The three soon take an interest in Theo's mission, too, and ultimately figure they have to get him in front of the UN assembly to state his case. Thing is, as lofty as the UN's goals might be, they don't let just anyone talk to the assembly, and when our heroes try to storm the building just for Theo to deliver his message, they all end up arrested instead. But they have attracted the attention of one UN employee, Monica (Mira Sorvino), a disillusioned former surgeon whose fire has been refanned by Theo. So she gets Theo all the necessary sponsors, and gets him a spot before the assembly to state his case after all. Everything sounds to great in fact that tragedy just has to be round the corner ...

Now whoever can't see this movie's positive message or flat out denies the film's underlying theme, climate change, is either a lier or a fool - but that said, movies that rely too strongly on their message, however important that message, aren't necessarily good movies, at least not from a narrative point of view. And overgeneralizing here, it gets even worse when these films are "based on a true story", which Chloe and Theo is (in fact, it's a highly fictionalized version of the lead Theo Ikummaq's adventures). And all that said, Chloe and Theo seems to be totally aware of this and chooses an approach that's not preachy but highly entertaining, going not for high drama here but packing things into a fish-out-of-water comedy (actually not unlike - to stay true to the movie's many Bruce Lee allusions here - Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon) - and the film works quite so well because it's actually really funny, shows heart where it ought to, and keeps its preaching to a bare minimum. And a solid cast and subtle direction also go a long way to make this a fun film wrapped around a serious matter.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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