All audience reviews of Jo and The Boy

Movies striving to motivate its viewers to chase after their dreams are dime a dozen. And Despite Manju Warrier's efforts to carry the movie on her own two shoulders; the overcooked doze of spur served with a sprinkle of happiness is nothing more than a jarring flick.

Amidst the serene and scenic backdrop of Kodaikanal director Rojin Thomas tells a tale of Joan Mary John (Manju Warrier) a bubbly babe who gallivants around her tropical neighbourhood snapping pictures on her DSLR aspiring to follow the footsteps of Walter Elias Disney. Growing up midst the misty hues of a hill town Joan develops a knack for sketching. But, her dreams which were mere doodles on a piece of paper came to life only when a whiz kid, Chris (Sanoop) showed up at her door step.

From developing Artificially Intelligent Animated Characters (AIAC) to jumping every little bump on the road while paving the way to rocketing success, the movie which starts off as a gentle wind hurls into a hurricane but slowly subsides to a dusty breeze by the time it reaches the second half.

The lack of visual execution of the verbally blabbered Dream Job, the disturbing but, delusional drift between Jo and the Boy and the meagre Animation which drives international media like BBC all the way across the country to cover Joan's work is all utter ruckus!

The cinematography earns the brownie points for this feature film and sadly Manju Warrier's attempt to blend in as Jo/Joan went awry as the movie diverts into complications galore. Sanoop as Chris was as adorable and mischievous as expected like in his previous movie 'Philips and monkey pen.' Even though the movie revolves around the eponymous, Lalu Alex as Joan's dad as well as the rest of the supporting cast like Pearly Mannie, Rekha, Sudheer Karamana, Kiran and Sunil Sukhada pulls off a promising performance.

Setting aside the monotonous motivational cliches 'Jo and the Boy' definitely follows an engaging theme for young toddlers and a visual relief for adults. less