For those living in the 90s, Beanie Babies were all the craze. As a little kid, I remember everyone wanting them and seeing them all over. So, it is no surprise that nostalgia for the 90s would make people want to relive this crazy. However, this story was already told fairly effectively in the documentary Beanie Mania with the people who actually lived it. Now that doesn't mean that there can't be an effective film about this story too. It is also worth noting that this movie is from the perspective of the people behind the Beanie Babies and not the collectors. However, this movie just felt like it was missing something. For one, the filmmakers changed some details to fit the story they wanted to tell. Director Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash explained why they needed to make some key changes to real-life events. "It went through many drafts," said Kristin. "And then we developed this idea of wanting to tell more of a fable and a universal story." Also, the cast is a mixed bag. Zach Galifianakis seems like a strange choice to play TY, as the real-life TY was somewhat of a recluse, unlike Galifianakis. Also, it feels like Galifianakis was using this movie to make a comeback which seemed strange. Similarly, Geraldine Viswanathan is a good actor but felt out of place here, and she was more of a way to move the plot along than an actual character most of the time (and mostly fictional). Lastly, Elizbeth Banks can be hit or miss in her movies. She is super cute in this movie but has a couple of cringe moments. And it seems most of her character was fictional. They even had to change her name because Ty's real sister was so different from Bank's character in the movie. That being said it wasn't a bad movie. As I said, it just felt like it was missing something. My recommendation is to watch Beanie Mania first, and if you still need some Beanie Baby nostalgia, that's not exactly true, then give watch this.
