Starring John Cusack, Molly Shannon. Written by Chris McKenna. Directed by Anthony Leondis. (PG) 86 min. Opens Sep 19.
John Cusack lends his likeable voice (he even sounds rumpled) to an hunchback character with ambitions beyond his station in Igor, this computer-animated comedy about throwing off the roles society lays on you. Our Igor is but one of many Igors in the gloomy city of Malaria, where being born with a mighty hump leads to a lifetime of servitude at the feet of a condescending, abusive master (John Cleese).
Formerly a sunny agricultural community before a mysterious weather pattern blocked out the sun and devastated the economy, Malaria survives through an industry of twisted invention. Scientists — evil, naturally — compete to create monsters of mass destruction and the world pays them to not unleash their terrible power. Cusack’s Igor accepts this system, but longs to be recognized as the evil scientist he aspires to be.
Igor’s problem is that, though brilliant, his inventions are not evil at all. He has created two sidekicks: an existential, suicidal rabbit driven mad by his own immortality (an acerbic but kid-friendly Steve Buscemi) and a less-than-genius brain in a jar with wheels (a refreshingly uncamp Sean Hayes). But Igor wants to create life — thus winning fame, respect and the opportunity to continue pursuing his talents — and so sets out to build an enormous female humanoid (Molly Shannon). When she ends up sweet and docile he pays to have her brainwashed into ultra-violence, but she’s accidentally programmed to become an actress. Quel horreur!
Both Jay Leno and Eddie Izzard are fun in their villainous roles and there are plenty of sly winks amongst the gags. The lesson — we can choose to be good or bad — is predictable, and it’s a less layered work than more ambitious examples of its genre (the first Shrek comes to mind), but Igor delivers its pleasures by sticking to the story.