I’m not sure what the talking heads said about this film or how many people saw it, but my wife and I did and The Voices with Ryan Reynolds should be on people’s list or at least on their radar. It’s a smattering of red paint thrown against a white canvas, somewhat resembling a masterpiece with only a spatter here or there that hit the new sofa or stained the carpet a little. It has some decent tier two celebrities and Ryan Reynolds, who might be tier one, so why not? The film has animal lovers covered, something for comedy and horror fans, a little romance and a killer uniform, what’s not to like? I might be trying a little hard here, but for an obscure film with a hard to place genre that was only released in theaters in a limited capacity, I think it’s worth a watch, especially if you see it in a discount bin at Walmart(thinking of you, Shawn) or on a used rack in whatever movie store you frequent. 

We’ve all got those good and bad voices in our heads, the angel and the devil on our shoulders or however you want to imagine them as. Jerry(Ryan Reynolds) has these two voices and they’re his pets. Check out the film for the dopey sounding dog and a quick-witted cat, both voiced by Reynolds. Sometimes I wish I had someone to whisper what I should hear in one ear and another to say what I wanna hear in the other…maybe not to this capacity though. 

The film’s genre is tough to corner, a “black comedy horror film” and even though this skirts between at least two well-known genres, I think it does so effectively. If you’ve ever seen a pet snake or a Silkie chicken you might know what I’m talking about, but for those I just lost with my random metaphor let me explain. You’re constantly wondering if the snake will be constricting and eating you in your sleep and the Silkie looks like the toy Furby you had when you were little and definitely has no place in the barnyard. Yet, people have pet snakes and Silkies are pretty popular. Anyways, the film has your horror covered with some blood and gore and it’s got your comedy covered with the less than intelligent Ryan Reynolds playing your favorite friendly, dimwitted coworker and of course his talking pet pals. Those that like romance, he even has a love interest too. It’s got it all, while still looking a little out of place, but I guess that’s kind of the point because it’s not always hip to be square…sorry Huey Lewis. 

Ryan Reynolds wearing a pink jumpsuit, I’m just going to let that sit with you for a minute. For some this might be funny, some might jump on board and make it the next big style, all the kids are doing it sort of thing, or maybe it’ll trend on Twitter and some might be turned on by it, who am I to judge? Anyway, he’s a blue-collar worker in the booming bathtub industry. He’s a country boy living above a modified bowling alley. He’s the unpopular guy going after the cute girl, isn’t that the underdog we all want to root for? Don’t worry, I don’t think this film is going the way you think it is. 

If you need a little Ryan Reynolds in your life and maybe not a raunchy comedy like Van Wilder, maybe something a little scarier than Dead Pool and much more dubious for conversations over a beer, a game of cards or if you just want your coworkers at the water cooler to leave you alone after your description of it, I think you’ve found your film. It’s only on DVD, so grab that Tupperware lasagna, if you’ve still got space in the fridge and sit down with your pets for a twisty ride. Hope I kept it vague enough to not be that guy that walks out of the theatre talking at a decibel no one can unhear, but hope I talked it up enough to get you interested to grab it off a shelf in passing, even if your significant other says it looks a little stupid. Worse comes to worse, watch it and sell it to one of those used movie stores, if the one in your town hasn’t gone out of business, or at a yard sale or something and unfollow me for the bad recommendation.