MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Horror-Drama/Stars: Jaeden Martell, Donald Sutherland, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Joe Tippett, Cyrus Arnold, Carl Zohan, Iván Amaro Bullón, Josie Axelson, Thomas Francis Murphy, Colin O’Brien, Caitlin Shorey, Alex Bartner, Peggy J. Scott, Gregory Jensen, Daniel Reece/Runtime: 106 minutes
I think it is safe to say that, if it had not already been made quite obvious courtesy of the absolutely numerous television and cinematic adaptations with even more on the way in the years ahead, the literary work of one Stephen King is work that the land of movie magic loves to try and find as many ways to adapt as they possibly can conjure up. Sure, King’s incredibly wordy manner (I mean seriously have you seen how big the novel IT is?) to say nothing of the scope of his tales can create quite the distinct hurdles to overcome. Ultimately though, the key attraction for the “creative minds” of Hollywood to say nothing of what they feel that this truly iconic author does phenomenally well is, besides make it all but impossible to enjoy literally anything in this life since in his hands it feels like anything can become either a tool or vessel for pure terror, that he is blessed with a gift for sculpting narratives about normal people much like you or me who find themselves put face first into situations that are anything but normal. Even better than that (as far as Hollywood is concerned): most have genuine cinematic potential (insert cash register noise here). Perhaps this is why this man and his work has been the inspiration of some genuinely great, some genuinely good, and quite a few cheesy yet entertaining slices of cinema that we have been treated to in the past 5 decades. This therefore brings us to the latest attempt to adapt The King for the silver screen, and slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone and I must be honest with you dear reader: that aforementioned history is one that this new film does show some degree of respect for. By that I mean this is definitely one literary adaptation that does bring quite a bit of what is written on the printed page and bring it roaring to life. At the same time though, it is from this point forward where things begin to get a bit troublesome because here’s the thing: of all the stories that King has written in his career that have cinematic potential….this isn’t exactly one that would be at the top or even in the middle of that list and the fact that there isn’t a whole lot in terms of steps being taken to try and fix that fact is more than just a wee bit on the problematic. That and if I am being completely honest: for a film that is trying to market itself as a “horror film”….it really isn’t all that scary. At the same time however, that is also because the story is more about a young man coming of age with a very precise dose of terror sprinkled in for good measure (think Stand By Me). Unfortunately, this literary adaptation seems to have forgotten that and instead is dead set on having you fooled that this is going to eventually segue over into a full-blooded spook fest. As a result, the cast may not be too bad and the work behind the camera is alright, but honestly this is one slice of cinema that is very much an example of something that is a mixed bag at best and completely unnecessary at worst.
The plot is as follows: An adaptation of a novella by Stephen King from his collection If It Bleeds, the story of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone takes us all the way to (stop me if you’ve heard this before) a small town in Maine and introduces us to our main character, a young boy by the name of Craig. Indeed here is a young man who, despite his age, has already been dealt a difficult hand in this life in the form of his mother whom he loved dearly tragically passing away before her time and his dad doing the best he can to be there for him yet still struggling to truly connect with him the way a father ought to with his son. Indeed, if there is one thing that Craig has going for him it would be the fact that he is fantastically clear and concise when it comes to reading out loud. I bring this up incidentally because it is this talent that first gets him noticed by a man named (surprise surprise) Mr. Harrigan. A man who, besides being the wealthiest man in all of Maine, is a grumpy, cynical, and a wee bit ruthless financial type, but who hires Craig to read to him and do assorted tasks for him around his home. Yet, despite the two being very much unalike in a lot of ways, it isn’t long before a rather distinct…..friendship I guess you could call it begins to blossom between the pair. So it is that a few years later that Craig has gotten older and is now in high school, but still enjoys taking the time to read/spend time with Harrigan who in turn passes along nuggets of wisdom to the young man that he hopes will help him continue to grow into who he aspires to be in life. We also see that, as another way of showing his young friend how much he means to him, Harrigan on certain occasions also sends our hero scratch-off tickets and when one actually pays off and nets our boy wonder a fair bit of cash, he decides to give back to the man who has given him so much. Of course, it should come as no surprise to learn that, since this IS taking place in 2007, our hero decides to buy Harrigan an iPhone and, despite initially wanting nothing to do with the device, we see that Harrigan takes to it especially after learning all that it can offer in terms of the stock market. Unfortunately, we soon see that the cruel side of life soon strikes again when Harrigan shortly thereafter tragically passes away. Yet, whilst he is in the midst of being laid to rest, we see our hero decide to place Harrigan’s iPhone on his person and later that night, out of a sense of grief more than anything, call it in a last-ditch effort to try and keep the memory of Harrigan alive. Yet by doing this our hero isn’t just racking up some spectacular long-distance charges, but rather putting himself in a prime position to learn one last lesson from Mr. Harrigan. One that is extremely important, but also that is unique in that it doesn’t require the person to be teaching it to still be among the living….
Now right off the bat, I would just like you to know that it must be said that this film is a wee bit of a mess. This is because the nature of the story being told is one that manages to be quite tasking for a cinematic take to try and pull off. Indeed this story might be one that causes us to deal in a head-on manner the more despicable things we wish for others to ensure, the source material is a slow cooker that doesn’t really pay off in a manner that screams “cinematic!”. As a result, this story isn’t entirely film material for those who want a new creepy film to enjoy. Oh sure there is unease to be found, but this film is one that concentrates more on drama than terror and it is in this rock and hard place spot that this film resides due to being an loyal take on the source material, flaws and all despite the work done at the helm and on the script by John Lee Hancock. Suffice it to say that this film is operating as good as it can be when it makes the creative choice to permit the cast to show what they can do as performers. Plus, the moment the phone comes into the picture, this film is one that does do a fairly good job at showcasing just how complicated our bond with technology can get especially when one of the people’s nowhere near as tech savvy. Yet despite being fairly intriguing to view this slice of cinema as one that revolves around two distinct generations learning from one another and changing each other’s lives for the better, the film doesn’t do itself any favors when the more otherworldly components begin rearing their heads. That’s because, despite his demise, Mr. Harrigan still wants to be there for his young friend and he ain’t about to let death get in the way of that which we see courtesy of certain things occurring to certain people who are still with us. However, it is when the film gets here that we see this film stumble and fall flat on its face since it just cannot for the life of it do two things. One is that it can’t showcase the suspense present in the source material and two it cannot fully capture what this story is really all about. That being that, this story is one that at its core about growing up with death seemingly always being close by and how bleak thoughts could have terrible fallout if we got a chance to make them happen. Yes these are intriguing concepts to ponder, but they are also concepts that work better if you read about them rather than seeing them play out on film. As a result, the moment that Harrigan exits stage right so to speak, this film simply isn’t able to keep its narrative operating as smoothly as it would be like. This is particularly frustrating not only because the film could have been a genuinely great coming of age story, but also because (despite being the month of spooky stories) this film never does get as scary as horror movie lovers may aspire for it to be.
Of course, if there is one element that does manage to keep this slice of cinema from completely falling into disarray it would be the work done by the cast that has been assembled in front of the camera. No they don’t give career-best work here by any stretch, but it is decent enough that it does help ensure the film doesn’t completely collapse in on itself. This starts with, in the titular role, Donald Sutherland and honestly you should know that is very much a co-starring role though given the role he’s playing that shouldn’t be a surprise. Even with that in mind though, there aren’t that many actors who have both the gravitas as well as the skill to not only play a character who is supposed to be somewhat unlikeable and be able to actually make them human to an extent, but then also be able to still keep us even remotely interested just off the film teasing us with their presence here and there after their physical time in the film has wrapped up. Suffice it to say though that Sutherland has long been one of those aforementioned actors and, even though he’s only in the movie for about 30-40 minutes, makes the most of every single minute in the way that only an actor of his caliber and talent could pull off. I also like the work done here by Jaeden Martell as our main character Craig. Indeed be it his work in such cinematic efforts as Knives Out, The Lodge, and (especially) in other Stephen King effort IT Part One from 2017, Martell has shown he is easily one of the more promising up and coming performers of his generation and here he does a fairly good job at playing a solemn yet articulate young man who thinks he’s learned all that he possibly could in this life about trauma and grief only to quickly find, courtesy of Mr. Harrigan, that there might be a few more lessons than people are usually made aware of. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in fairly decent efforts from Joe Tippett as Craig’s father, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Craig’s favorite teacher in school, and Peggy J. Scott has Harrigan’s loyal and decent housekeeper Edna it can safely be said that the acting might not be the best in the world, but it also is by no means the worst either.
All in all is Mr. Harrigan’s Phone the worst adaptation of Stephen King’s work that I have ever seen carried over to the realm of film/television? Honestly no. Not even close. If you want to know what is then may I recommend one of the way too many to count sequels to Children of the Corn, the sequel to Carrie, or even the recent Firestarter adaptation? I’m sure those will suffice. At the same time however, is this the best cinematic adaptation of this iconic literary titan’s work that movie goers have been treated to? Again not even close. For that honor, may I recommend The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Gerard’s Game, The Shining (even if King himself would most likely politely yet firmly disagree), Stand By Me, or even Misery? With that in mind however, you’re probably still left wondering where that leaves this distinct cinematic adaptation and honestly that’s where things get a wee bit tricky. On the one hand, the work by the cast (with particular regard to the work done by both Donald Sutherland as well as Jaeden Martell) isn’t too bad and the work done behind the camera is workmanlike and fairly dependable so there is that. However, this also is one story that definitely doesn’t by any stretch give off the vibe of being one that warranted a movie adaptation and the film definitely does manage to show this off in quite a few ways. As such, this slice of cinema is one that at best is an alright way to waste a couple of hours if you absolutely cannot find anything else to watch, but otherwise is very much a film that, through and through, can be viewed as a film that really wasn’t all that necessary in the first place. Suffice it to say that, unlike the call in the classic Twilight Zone episode Long Distance Call, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is definitely one phone call that I think you can just send straight to voicemail. Make of that what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Mr. Harrigan’s Phone a solid 2.5 out of 5.
