Dear Wendy

Get your guns ready because today we're looking at Dear Wendy!

Who is this badass ginger? Remember that little kid with the big ears from Major Payne?

Dear Wendy is a strange movie with a different take on the "coming of age" and "forbidden love" story ideas. It's odd and can be silly at times, but has a lot of interesting ideas and a violent ending. You should go check it out now and save the review for later if you don't want to be spoiled at all. By spoilers that is.

Dick Dandelion(Jaime Bell), is a young man living in a coal mining town, Electric Park. He feels weak, a loser until he finds a small toy gun and starts carrying it around. Only until he becomes friends with another outsider does he realize the gun is real and they both start to go Gun Crazy.

Well not really. Dick forms a group of misfit gun enthusiasts called "The Dandies" that enjoy carrying around guns but are complete pacifists. And it really does wonders for them, giving them a boost of confidence. Dick doesn't feel weak, the cripple becomes a ladies magnet, and the quirky shy flat-chested girl grows boobs(Yes she does. And it's Kim Pine from Scott Pilgrim and she does show them. Why I have no idea.)

Throughout the movie, Dick is narrating the events that have unfolded as a love letter to "Wendy", an unknown love interest. You never see her and you keep wondering who she is until half way through the movie he names his gun. I was completely taken by surprise. It finally dawned on me that there was no woman love interest; this was a movie about a man and his love affair with his gun. And it really is a love affair, all the elements are there: That high when you first fall in love, ecstasy, jealousy, anger and betrayal, and a tragic but fitting ending.

As the group of misfits gets more involved with their respective pieces, their organization gets more and more...cooky. But since it's from their vantage point and it leads you along slowly, it all makes sense. Up until a new character comes in and shows their organization from an outsider's perspective.

It's a strange movie, and it can get pretty silly at times, but the trip you take with the main character is thouroughly enjoyable. And boy, is it a trip. The only part about this movie that really irks me is the bloody and tragic ending. The sheriff finds out they're carrying guns and wants to take them away. It just escalates so quickly and seems so avoidable. Sure it's illegal, but is there a reason the police need to take their guns away by force? Is this really how they would handle a situation of a minor holding a weapon who shows no aggression whatsoever? But maybe that's the point. What I do love about the ending is Dick getting flashes of the future of the consequences of his actions.

It's a strange movie with some different takes on the generic movie formulas, some great acting, and some really interesting ideas on guns and manliness. The soundtrack is very reminiscent of the 60's and 70's free love/stick it to the man movements. If you're into guns or just like cool but odd movies I'd recommend picking it up. Dear Wendy get's a 35 out of 47 in my book.