20th Century Studios gambled $50 million on an investment on Shawn Simmons with his original idea, Eenie Meanie. And they gave him full creative control to see his vision through from the director’s chair. Simmons has built up a resume of writing TV Series episodes, and spearheading the creation of a Youtube original series, Wayne. Picked up by Hulu, Eenie Meanie is Simmons’ directorial debut – an Ohio based and set film starring Samara Weaving, Karl Glusman, and a variety of supporting actors including Randall Park, Andy Garcia and ex-Seahawks star, Marshawn Lynch.
Eenie Meanie follows a resourceful getaway driver, Edie (Samara Weaving), who worked her way out of crime, but is ultimately pulled back into it by her ex-boyfriend. The story is the product of a conglomerate of influences from Shawn Simmons who was inspired by growing up in a poor community and watching 1970s getaway driver movies.
Simmons stated he wanted to make his action thriller have a second act focused on relationships – an “emotional detective story” – combined with exciting action, rather than just “hijinx” and cheap entertainment. Despite how noble this idea is, it unfortunately doesn’t work to the degree I’m sure he was hoping for. The film’s attempt to be an everything movie leaves it feeling like a nothing movie. Don’t get me wrong – It’s satisfactory in all its elements – the relationship building, crime organization plot, family struggles, heist setup, car chase sequences, fight scenes, best friend dynamics – but there’s simply too many surface level components. The film’s unwillingness to pick a style or genre causes a lack of identity. I can’t help but compare it to Edgar Wright’s 2017 getaway flick, Baby Driver, a much more memorable movie, due to its uncompromising focus on one unique character and his obsession with music. Eenie Meanie just never develops a distinct style or personality in that same way.
The film’s cinematography doesn’t help. With a story already lacking in character, the visuals only reinforce this generic tone, giving it an unmistakable “streaming” look. The lighting is often bright and flat with little complexity, and many of the locations come across as visually unremarkable. That said, the cinematography does improve as the film goes on. The car chase scenes are shot with energy, and a late beach scene stands out as the film’s most beautiful visual moment. The intercut B-roll and shots of Cleveland also provide some of the strongest imagery, providing a glimpse into the city and the tragedies that occur there.
Though the cinematography is somewhat stagnant, the plot is all over the place. What begins as a predictable story of a girl getting pulled back into a life of crime quickly accelerates and never hits the brakes. There are plenty of moving parts, especially with the characters tied to the crime organization who don’t get much screen time but are still essential to the story’s mechanics. The pacing works in the film’s favor, delivering an entertaining movie through and through.
Samara Weaving’s Edie is a difficult character to define. She has moments, like in the film’s opening sequence, that highlight her complexity and decision-making. However, most of the movie is spent with her getting dragged around and cleaning up messes. After the opening sequence, she doesn’t make many significant decisions, and thus struggles to develop a strong personality. She is good at driving, and she cares about John – that’s about it. The few decisions that she does make, like when she sees her dad again, feel fairly easy to make and inconsequential to her character growth. There are a few glimmering moments that work really well, such as her final conversation with Nico, but these are unfortunately few and far between.
Her counterpart, John, is sadly a similar story. There are some moments that begin to give the audience a glimpse into his mind, but they either come too late, or are followed up by senseless problematic actions. I was waiting for him to grow on me, or to see his redeeming qualities, but that moment just never came, and I was left feeling disconnected from his character.
The most memorable performances came from the supporting actors doing their best to add life to the film. Randall Park’s appearance is quick, but noteworthy. Marshawn Lynch isn’t a perfect actor, but his presence is intimidating and he brings a distinct personality. Jermaine Fowler delivers the most impressive performance in my opinion, albeit in a very limited role. And of course, Andy Garcia delivers a solid performance as a crime kingpin.
Coming from a personal place, Eenie Meanie takes a swing at a lot of themes and ideas and manages to hit on a few here and there along the way – but it may have bitten off more than it can chew. Overall, it’s a decent film with some entertainment value that never really seems to find its voice, despite some strong supporting performances and promising ideas.
