''Unicorn Store'' is a 2017 American
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film directed and co-produced by
Brie Larson
Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress. Known for her supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, she has since expanded to leading roles in independent films and blockb ...
(in her
feature film directorial debut). It stars Larson,
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
,
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama ''Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997) ...
,
Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...
,
Karan Soni
Karan Soni (born January 8, 1989) is an Indian-American actor and comedian. Often appearing in comedic roles, he came to prominence for playing Dopinder in the films ''Deadpool'' (2016) and its sequel ''Deadpool 2'' (2018).
Born in New Delhi, S ...
,
Mamoudou Athie
Mamoudou Athie ( ) is a Mauritanian Americans, Mauritanian-American actor. He is best known for starring in the 2022 Netflix horror series ''Archive 81'' and supporting roles in films including Jurassic World Dominion, ''Jurassic World: Dominion ...
,
Mary Holland
Mary Holland (born June 24, 1985) is an American actress, comedian, and writer.
Early life and education
Holland was born and raised in Galax, Virginia. She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from North ...
and
Hamish Linklater
Hamish Linklater (born July 7, 1976) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in ''The New Adventures of Old Christine'', Andrew Keanelly in ''The Crazy Ones'', and Clark Debussy in ''Legion''. He is the son of ...
.
It premiered during the Special Presentations section at the
2017 Toronto International Film Festival
The 42nd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 7 to 17 September 2017. There were fourteen programmes, with the Vanguard and City to City programmes both being retired from previous years, with the total number of films down b ...
and was released on April 5, 2019 by
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. The film received mixed reviews with critics praising the performances and Larson's potential as a filmmaker while some lamented the screenplay as too "immature" and "whimsical".
Plot
Kit, a failed artist, moves back in with her parents and takes a temp job at a PR agency. At work, Kit meets the vice president, Gary, who is extremely awkward and makes inappropriate advances.
Shortly after starting, Kit receives a mysterious letter from "The Salesman" who invites her to "The Store," that sells "what you need." He offers her to fulfill her childhood fantasy of owning a
unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
. Kit must prepare by meeting specific requirements in files.
The first file outlines how to provide an adequate unicorn living enclosure. Kit hires Virgil, a hardware store employee, to build a stable without telling him what for. Soon, they begin to talk and spend time together. The second file tells Kit she must prepare to feed the unicorn. Kit and Virgil buy hay on a day trip together and further get to know each other.
Gary offers Kit an opportunity to present a vacuum cleaner marketing pitch. During this time, Kit receives the next file and learns she must be able to surround the unicorn with a loving environment, but realizes her poor relationship with her parents prevents this.
On the weekend Kit should be preparing her work presentation, but goes on an "Emotion Quest" wilderness trip with her parents, confronting them during the 'truth circle' time, leading to a family discussion. They end up arguing, furthering tensions between her and her parents.
Once Kit returns home, she finds inspiration for her presentation and works all night. The next file says she must show that she can financially support the unicorn.
Kit's flamboyant presentation is not well-received by the business executives, who watch in stunned silence. They unanimously opt for a different pitch, using an attractive model. Kit leaves her job. On a date with Virgil, he asks her to reveal the secret of the stable's purpose. Kit tells him about the unicorn store, bringing him to it, only to find it is gone. Kit's confusion turns to anger as she feels betrayed. Virgil becomes concerned, telling her that she's been conned, but assuring her that he doesn't think she's crazy. Kit exits angrily, leaving Virgil standing there, where he sees some hay on the ground.
Kit gives up on her dream of owning a unicorn and throws out all of her art and supplies. After a healing moment with her mother, Kit tries to reach out to Virgil, visits his store, but is unable to get in touch with him. She leaves an apologetic message on his voicemail, and later finds that Virgil has finished the stable, decorating it with the artwork that she had thrown out.
The Salesman calls to tell Kit the unicorn has arrived. When she hesitates, the Salesman tells her there is another waiting if Kit doesn't get it. Virgil urges Kit not to go. Despondent, Kit says if she doesn't go, she will always wonder. When she arrives, Kit finds the unicorn is actually there. She talks to the unicorn, thanking him when he was there for her when nobody else was, and finally gains closure. She decides not to take the unicorn with her, and leaves it for the next customer. Virgil comes in and sees the unicorn as well. They leave hand-in-hand, astonished at all they had just experienced.
Cast
Various crew members appear in brief roles, including: writer Samantha McIntyre as Sam, a woman also seeking a unicorn; composer
Alex Greenwald
Alexander Greenwald (born October 9, 1979) is an American musician, actor, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the California rock band Phantom Planet.
Life and career
Greenwald was born in Los Angeles, California, to a family of J ...
as a ninja; production designer Matt Luem as Jonathan Scott, Kit's art professor; and executive producer Nathan Kelly as David Davidson Jr.
Toks Olagundoye
Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress.[Jack J. Yang
Jack Jung-Kai Yang () (born 1974) is an American/Canadian actor of Taiwanese ethnicity. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
* '' The Yellow Truth'' as Jack (2003)
* '' Shadow Chase ...]
cameo as Scott's fellow art professors.
Production
Larson had previously auditioned to be in the film but failed to get the part, but five years later was invited to come on board as director.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in November 2016, in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and concluded on December 9, 2016.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
on September 11, 2017. On January 9, 2019, it was revealed that
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
picked up the distribution rights. It was released on April 5, 2019.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, 64% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 90 reviews, with an average rating of 5.96/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "It'll be best enjoyed by audiences with a high tolerance for colorful whimsy, but ''Unicorn Store'' is easy to like — and it suggests Brie Larson has a future behind the camera."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
assigned the film a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 44 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Clarisse Loughrey of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' gave it a positive review, praising its "earnest emotion" and "joyous celebration of femininity." Leah Greenblatt of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' rated it "B", and called it "A candy-coated, willfully quirky wisp of a film; like a Michel Gondry fantasy dipped in glitter and rainbow sprinkles." Tim Grierson of ''
Screen International
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...
'' wrote "Both skewering and celebrating its adult protagonist's childlike wonder, ''Unicorn Store'' runs the risk of excessive whimsy at every turn. But Larson navigates through a cute story's clear limitations to deliver a film that's often quite funny."
Peter Debruge from ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' was critical of the film, saying it fails to create the right tonal balance, and labeled it "a creative misfire".
[ '']IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Kristy Puchko gave the film 4.3 out of 10, and stated "Despite all the magic, unicorns, and glitter, there's not much fun or whimsy to ''Unicorn Store''. Its wonder is punctured by Kit's perpetually prickly attitude. Its humor is dulled by Larson's incoherent comedy stylings .. In the end, the best thing I can say about ''Unicorn Store'' is it's only 92-minutes long."
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 2338454
Unicorn Store on Metacritic
Unicorn Store on Rotten Tomatoes
2017 films
2010s fantasy comedy films
2017 independent films
American fantasy comedy films
American independent films
Films about unicorns
Films directed by Brie Larson
Films produced by Ruben Fleischer
Films shot in Los Angeles
English-language Netflix original films
2017 directorial debut films
2017 comedy films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films