The Family Way

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (B) - A chubby rebellious young teen finally finds stability with an older foster couple, only to have that domestic contentment torn apart, sending him off on a whimsical adventure in the New Zealand bush.

With an almost Disney-like innocence and zeal, Taikia Waititi -- writer/director of "Flight of the Conchords" and "What We Do in the Shadows" -- crafts an endlessly charming coming-of-age tale about male bonding. He pairs Julian Dennison as young Ricky Baker with a grizzled Sam Neill as ol' Hec, who takes charge of the boy after Hec's wife suddenly leaves the picture in the first third of the film.

Ricky has a penchant for running away but not getting far. When Hec sets out after him, the old man injures his ankle, stranding them in nature for a few weeks, enough time for the missing pair to make headlines, spurred by an evil child-services bureaucrat, Paula (Rachel House), who insists that lovable Ricky is a nasty little hellion. An all-out manhunt ensues, as Hec and Ricky stay one step ahead of their pursuers and transition into folk heroes.

Waititi imbues the story with heaping helpings of whimsy while grounding it in an earnest relationship between the wisecracking kid and the curmudgeonly old man, barely avoiding the tired trope that such a pairing suggests. Dennison carries the movie effortlessly, and Neill ("Jurassic Park") deftly balances drama and humor. These solid characters are orbited by rather cartoonish supporting players -- hapless lawmen, goofy bad guys, and Paula the wicked witch, who likes to repeat the mantra "No child left behind" (unconvincingly) while zealously stalking her prey.

It's an improbably winning formula. Waititi could have lopped off a few scenes instead of dragging it out past 100 minutes. But it's fun to cheer on Ricky and Hec, and the wholesomeness of the tale is refreshing.

THE HOLLARS (B-minus) - There's a new Zach Braff in town, and he goes by the name John Krasinski, that harmlessly handsome love interest from TV's "The Office."

Krasinski serves up a familiar indie comic-drama. He stars as John Hollar, a drifting 30-something who is frittering away his artistic ambitions by working an uninspiring job in New York City until he is called back to his working-class hometown after his mother (Margo Martindale) is diagnosed with a brain tumor. This reunites him with her, his father, Don (Richard Jenkins), and his brother, Ron (a manic Sharlto Copley), a pair of hapless males struggling to rise to the occasion.

Krasinski, working with a script by James C. Strouse ("Grace Is Gone"), pulls too many punches here, and he drains both the drama and the comedy of any potency. Martindale and Jenkins are great actors, but the roles feel too small for them. Copley brings an intensity to the role of a man essentially stalking his ex-wife and kids, a fervor that yields neither pathos nor sharp humor. An oddly subdued Anna Kendrick hangs around as Krasinski's pregnant girlfriend, in another underwritten part. With little to no chemistry between them, Kendrick's character comes off as just another woman secretly pining for a ring and a proposal.

While this all adds up to a generally likable movie with some sweet moments and a couple of genuine laughs, it lacks depth and urgency. This is the equivalent of the likeable sitcom star's film-school thesis. Like Braff, he'll get another shot. Will he, too, fail to forge a career on the big screen?