If you are looking for a fun, lighthearted diversion from the seriousness of life, this movie is not it. Instead, it is a dark and surprisingly deep action movie with great characters.
When I first saw the ad for this movie appear on Hulu, I did a double take. "From the writer of Deadpool" and starring Samara Weaving who I loved in Ready or Not and Guns Akimbo? That sounds awesome!
I couldn't wait to watch and was expecting an over-the-top action/ comedy that would be highly entertaining. Although it was indeed very entertaining, it was not exactly what I expected. It was far more dark than I would have imagined. They wrap some really serious stuff into a joking package, but it is more like using humor to dull the pain rather than for a fun romp. Personally I loved that this did not go exactly how I thought it would. I actually would have been mad if it just stuck to the cliche formula.
First, this movie was definitely inspired by Quentin Tarantino. It stresses dialogue and cool characters (and some super annoying ones... but they are supposed to annoy you). It also has hints of Baby Driver and True Romance (two of my favorite movies of all times). But it also throws in a little Natural Born Killers. For me, the mix worked very well. But keep in mind how serious natural Born Killers was and it may help set your expectations for this film.
In addition, there were some cool action scenes. I especially enjoyed Weaving getting to show off her physical abilities. If Margot Robbie decides she can't play Harley Quinn anymore, I think Samara Weaving could step in nicely.
I'm not going to lie. The fact that Samara Weaving would fit in perfectly in Banshee Pennsylvania definitely enhanced my enjoyment of Eenie Meanie.
But the best part of the movie are the interesting characters from the criminal world. Andy Garcia does an amazing job as always playing a crime boss. Steven Zahn does a fine job as a petty criminal trying to go straight. Weaving and Karl Glusman have some great chemistry as the couple stuck in the ultimate toxic relationship. For the first half of the movie, I wanted to scream at Edie (played by Weaving) to get the hell away from that dipshit John who was destroying her life. And then the writers did what does not happen enough. They actually explained why Edie would be with this douchebag. It made tragic sense.
The two most surprisingly things about the movie were the fact that I actually loved the car chase scenes... and there are many. Edie is a getaway driver. Apparently she's the best and the stunt crew worked overtime getting that point across. I normally am bored to tears by chase scenes. That is why these were so surprising. The second surprise is that ex-NFL player Marshawn Lynch continues to steal every scene he is in. He is starting to garner a reputation with me that if he is in a movie, I will be entertained.
I am actually very surprised that so many critics are panning this movie. As I write this Eenie Meanie only has a 39% with critics. I honestly don't think they get why the movie is not just a simple formulaic lovers running from the law story.