Taika Waititi’s 'Jojo Rabbit': Toronto Review
it was even easier to dislike it, and the same holds true fora rollicking comedy about a young German boy during World War II who has his very own special edition of Adolf Hitler as his closest playtime companion. The brash way in which the film plays extreme Nazi views for laughs and then twists them for emotional dividends will once again divide the public, and it’s quite likely that younger viewers won’t be bothered by the film’s fast and loose attitude.
But eager ten-year-old German Jojo Betzler isn’t too good with this physical stuff and ultimately suffers a facial injury that gets him cashiered and sent home. “Adolf” persists in his hate lessons there, hardly leaving the kid alone and trying with some urgency to shape him into a full-blown Nazi.
How to describe the brand of comedy served up by Waititi in this markedly odd film? It’s by turns rude, flippant and aggressive, sometimes laced with clever wordplay and not overly sentimental, either with the kids or at the end, despite the built-in potential for it. He manifestly loves to show off his cleverness, to pose, to grandstand. Still, as did Chaplin, he leaves plenty of room on this occasion for his young co-star to excel and fully remain at the center of the story.
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