Sr. Pig

source: Sr. Pig

If you're a Danny Glover fan, find yourself a copy of the indie drama Mr. Pig and treat yourself to one of his finest performances. If you only think of him as Sergeant Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon series, you owe it to his talent to watch this movie. You'll probably be shocked it's the same actor. Those of us who do like him will find it a little hard to watch, since we have to see him playing a very old man at death's door. He's in very poor health and spends most of the movie hooked up to an oxygen tank. But why suffer through that image of who we still think of as a virile man? Because in this sweet, small story, he has a best friend. He loves his friend and wants to make sure he'll be taken care of in the years to come. His friend is a pig. Danny can't bear the thought of the pig getting slaughtered or mistreated, so he takes a road trip with his daughter, Maya Rudolph to find the pig a good home. Danny and Maya have a strained relationship, so this isn't strictly a "we love animals" movie. It's an internal drama about getting all your affairs in order at the end and prioritizing the ones you love. At times hard to watch, it radiates love in every scene to make it all worthwhile.

We join a beaten down, broke - and terminally ill -Ambrose (Danny Glover) who, it later transpires, has neither been a good father nor husband, at least not in the traditional sense. At this point, his primary driver is finding a place where his prize winning pig, Howard, will receive as much love and care that Ambrose gives - a tall order given the man's total devotion to his (admittedly charming) porcine friend. Ambrose decides to embark on a long journey to see Payo, the son of an old friend, who now runs his family's successful pig farm in Mexico, as he feels this will be best for Howard, with whom he philosophises and chunters continually. Howard's grunts and snaffles are all the replies needed. Shocked by what the farm tour reveals, Ambrose storms off, semi incoherent with upset at Howard's likely fate - naturally with his beloved pig in tow. Danny Glover captures the shambolic reactions of an old, sick, disappointed man - moreover one whose overriding concern is for his animal, rather than cash - so beautifully. You can see his erratic - and often irascible - behaviour is driven by love. The episode affects him(and his health) deeply and, having thus far only spoken his daughter Eunice (Maya Rudolph)on the phone, she drives out to meet him. Their relationship initially seems fragile. He's been absent for most of her life and she neither knows how ill he is, nor gets his passion for animals and their welfare. She very soon finds out though - and is reminded of something important from her childhood. They sometimes argue but that's because he's a man on a mission; moreover one who knows he's short on options, with no time to be patient when it comes to safeguarding Howard. Despite the squabbles - and the merciful lack of ridiculous melodrama - the formerly hectoring Eunice is slowly won over by Ambrose who, when not striving on behalf of his four legged pal, is soft and reflective, easily acknowledging - and regretting - his past mistakes, while in no way feeling sorry for himself. I know it seems rather late to be reviewing this 5 years after its release, but having only just shown on Netflix, I am delighted to have finally caught up with this lovely little hidden gem, for it is indeed, a diamond.

A beautiful and powerful film. People that give this one star are fools.

Good movie, pretty good acting by Danny Glover and Maya Randolph. Dying old hog farmer wants to give his last pig a good rest of its life in Mexico, but things don't go as planned and his estranged daughter joins him. Predictable ending.

Excellent actors but unfortunately they could not save a boring script and lackluster directing. Could the story have been told better? Yes, I think so. For me, it just seemed like the writers and the director didn't really try. It just felt like everyone was simply going through the motions in a film that needed passion and talent to make it exceptional.

Danny Gloves doesn't usually sign onto movies with so little to offer in the way of action/intrigue, so it was rather sad to see him floundering around trying to salvage something from this script. The relationship with his daughter doesn't ring true at all, and while we are supposed to feel sympathy toward his character there's an unshakeable fact that he's just not likeable. Everybody relates to one another in simple formulatic and cliche manners. Very dull. It takes a rare movie to take tremendous talent like this and come up with a dud.

I had Mr. Pig saved on my Netflix list for a long time and finally finished watching it. I thought the film was very good as it touches upon family relationships, animal cruelty, and our unconditional desire to help others. Danny Glover plays Ambrose, an ailing father who is losing his farm and goes on a journey to Mexico to sell his prized pig, Howard. Midway on his journey, his health beings to take a toll and his daughter Eunice (Maya Rudolph) joins him on his trip. What I liked so much about the film was how simple it was but yet examines so many aspects of human emotion. You first see how much love Ambrose has for his pig Howard. On the trip, Ambrose regularly stops to feed and bathe Howard, even casually talking to him. Once Howard gets to his friend, Payo's farm, he discovers the horrid living conditions of the pigs. The pigs live in cramped cages and are regularly fed antibiotics. Ambrose becomes upset at the living conditions and Payo says that is how pig farming is done now. Discovering that this would be the life for Howard, Ambrose quickly decides to find Howard a better home. Eunice arrives to help her father sell his pig and return home. Once she arrives Ambrose's health begins to deteriorate which seems to draw the pair closer together. With Eunice's arrival, you see the complicated relationship between her and her father. Eunice cares so much for him even when at times he becomes stubborn and Ambrose expresses the things he regrets about her upbringing. I found myself going through all kinds of emotions as I was watching Mr. Pig. I was feeling sorry for the pig, Howard. I felt worried about Ambrose. I even felt Eunice's frustrations as she was dealing with her dad. But more importantly, I really wanted to keep watching to see what would happen to them on their journey. I really recommend this movie if you need something to watch on Netflix as this movie has terrific acting and writing.

Well acted,well written story about end of life told in an affectionate way. Good portrayals by Maya Rudolph and Danny Glover.

The pig does not like it when humans bathe him, like Danny Glover in the film, then later we come to find out he does like water, he jumps into the ocean on his own volition and swims and everything. Danny claims he is a dead beat dad but in the end he was able to do exactly what we thought was going to be impossible, how the hell is he going to find a nice home for Howard in Mexico when everyone looks at him like he should be part of breakfast lunch and dinner and late night snack! lol, and leave something behind for his daughter. but it does all work out, that's the trippi, thing, Howard does find a nice home where it looks like he is going to live out his golden years just fine in a natural habitat; another great scene is when he is looking for Howard in the pig pens and the pigs begin to freak out as though they are trying to tell him , this is not place for any pig to call home and he feels all this , its very cool and thought out. So right when it looks like they should give up because he made a large mistake forgoing the easy money for the sake of Howard's sanity and health; something better is looming around the corner and its grand! This was just wonderful on so many levels; I highly recommend it, catch it on Netflix if you can!