Ryan Reynolds Does Horror Comedy Right in ‘The Voices’ (2015)

I have a confession to make… I love Ryan Reynolds. Well, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love him? It’s clear that Ryan Reynolds is a very attractive man: Blake Lively knows it, I know it, you know it, my dog knows it…  But he has much more to offer beyond his looks. He’s a fantastic actor and he has proven this over and over again for several years now, most recently with his huge blockbuster hit Deadpool. However, this is not the only amazing thing he’s done in the last year that fans should be aware of. The Voices, directed by Marjane Satrapi, is a 2015 dark comedy horror that shows his range of acting skills in a fun, original if slightly twisted story.

In all honesty, this role is perfect for Ryan Reynolds. He knows how to deliver both comedy and horror, and The Voices has both. In fact, it has the perfect mix, making it a perfectly balanced dark comedy horror. Ryan Reynolds plays Jerry, a charismatic, good looking dude that everyone likes. But there’s much more than meets the eye with Jerry. He talks to his animals. His animals actually talk back. He hears their voices. The cat even has an accent and can be a right bastard at times. His animals don’t just provide him comfort and companionship; they tell him to do things, sometimes bad things, often making decisions difficult and nearly impossible to tell the difference between wrong and right. Unfortunately, his pets aren’t the only voices he hears, and when he stops taking his pills, it only gets worse…

One of the best parts of this movie is, well, Ryan Reynolds.  He makes crazy slightly adorable. Dating him is worth the risk of possibly getting your head chopped off. However, it’s not just the specific part of Jerry but the many roles he plays throughout The Voices that show off his talents and make this movie great. He voices his cat, Mr. Whiskers, and his dog, Bosco, as well as a few other animals. Mr. Whiskers is the one that always talks Jerry into doing bad things while Bosco tries to be the slightly dopey voice of reason. Both of the voices are great, and hearing their back and forth commentary is comical. Of course, Jerry is the only one who can hear them.

Although I love the funny aspects of the movie, the dark tones make the story worthwhile. Why is Jerry this way? What led him on this path of self-destruction? Well, the auditory and visual hallucinations appear to be hereditary, because as we see in flashbacks, his Mom had suffered from them as well. Add to that an abusive, unsympathetic father and you’ve got yourself one sucky childhood right there. There’s also the things he had to do concerning his mom and the place he ended up after these events, which definitely would cause some form of mental breakdown and the beginning of his misunderstanding of right and wrong. The fact that he truly doesn’t want to hurt anyone is disheartening and the one reason you can’t hate Jerry, no matter what he does. You can see his pain and discomfort from his actions, and even though he thinks he knows right from wrong, he can’t control it…he feels like it wasn’t him. His concept of reality is blurred tenfold.

On that note, some of the other high points in The Voices are when the other characters realize what is going on with Jerry and the blurred vision of his reality becomes all too real to them as well. Fiona (Gemma Arterton), Lisa (Anna Kendrick), and Dr. Warren (Jacki Weaver) all do an excellent job in their roles and, at one point or another, all try to steer Jerry back onto the path of righteousness but instead find a much darker road ahead. Fiona, however, plays a big part of his self-destruction and also serves as comical relief.

One little plot issue – how did no one know any of this was going on? Yes, it’s one thing to be two different people, to live two different lives, when one is fully aware of how to hide their disasters from the people around them. But come on – his apartment was a disaster. There were feces, blood, guts, Tupperware stuffed with human remains and a refrigerator full of body parts and he lived above a public bowling alley. How did no one smell the rank coming from his place from a mile away? The moment anyone was to stand outside his door, the smell should have hit them like a bulldozer and sent them screaming. Also, how did he keep such a dirty apartment, but maintain a clean composure? Was he aware enough to set aside a special place in his apartment for his clothes and other meaningful things that wouldn’t be harmed from disaster surrounding him? They still would have stunk to high heaven, no matter what corner he tried hiding them in. Other than that, this film is nothing short of awesome.

Final thoughts:

If you love dark horror comedies you will love The Voices. First of all, you can’t go wrong with Ryan Reynolds. Secondly, although the movie had a limited release through video on demand, it has gained popularity from audiences and gained positive reviews from critics. It’s one of those movies that didn’t have many advertisements or big screen debuts yet people are talking about it and love it. Thirdly, I don’t want to spoil it too much, but the ending has an awesome musical number by all the cast members that you won’t want to miss…yes, Ryan Reynolds sings. It’s a movie for everyone because it’s comically entertaining, slightly romantic and horrifying all at once, and you feel for the main character, no matter what he’s done. You feel bad because he really just wants to be a good guy.