A Thinking Person’s Comedy

You know that one weird kid—we all knew him. Maybe he was home schooled, maybe his folks were just a bit off, perhaps he was just that guy living in his own world or any number of oddball stereotypes. Cyrus is a movie about that kid.

You know that one weird kid—we all knew him. Maybe he was home schooled, maybe his folks were just a bit off, perhaps he was just that guy living in his own world or any number of oddball stereotypes. Cyrus is a movie about that kid.

Well, not entirely. It’s also about his mother and the guy she’s dating. Jonah Hill is Cyrus, whose mother Molly (Marissa Tomei) recently began dating again. John is played by John C. Reilley who meets Molly at a party where she shockingly finds his depressing drunken wit amusing enough to start dating him. Things go pretty well until John meets Cyrus, and finds that any relationship he engages in with Molly will include her rather unique son.

Cyrus and Molly share a close mother and son bond forged over 21 years together—a relationship that is, for lack of a better term, creepy.

John and Cyrus simultaneously do and don’t get along, and this is the core of the film—the two men staring each other down over the same woman. Eventually, you realize that they are actually rather alike. However, the road to this realization is positively paved with desiccated sobering comedy.

The main thing you should know about this movie is that it is very funny, even though you might not be aware of it while watching. Cyrus tickles my driest of funny bones, and as with most movies which utilize dry humor, many viewers are left scratching their heads wondering where all the crotch shots, over-the-top characters or zany situations fully stocked with one-liners are. If your idea of a comedy is a blockbuster full of Dane Cook style jokes, farts or even just in-your-face antics, then you should steer clear of Cyrus.

You won’t find any of that here. Laughs are had at the expense of simple absurdities of life that, in the end, aren’t too uncommon after all. Plenty of single parents date and must take their kids into consideration, and plenty of kids share strong relationships with their parents. This comedy is therefore very plain while the cinematography, which uses a shaky documentary style, further adds to the genuine feel of the film.

Creepy and awkward are key themes in Cyrus. Every character is odd in their own way. John is certainly needy and lays his neediness on pretty thick, while Cyrus is an independent soul who is so overly unique that he is oblivious to how weird he can be…or is he? Molly is the kind of woman who would raise a kid like Cyrus and be attracted to a guy like John. She is also the kind of woman who would breast feed a five-year-old.

While the wit is experienced on a deeper level than what is being shown to you, another even deeper level is present that you don’t get with a lot of comedies. These characters each have a variety of dimensions which tell another story that may go over the heads of a lot of viewers. Is Cyrus truly that weird? Is John a creep? What is really happening between these people?

Find out for yourself, but be aware that this is a thinking person’s comedy. If you don’t want to work a little to find your laugh, then you might be better off going to see Grown Ups.