And besides, how hardened can a teenager be if shes wowed by magic tricks? Thats the bet that Margot (Rhea Perlman), a semi-successful kids birthday party magician, takes when she catches Sammy smoking in the girls room at the community college where Sammys dad is forcing her to take a business class. (Sammys Ghost World-esque business idea? A door-to-door euthanasia service.) Margot sees something in this wounded, rebellious child, and gives Sammy exactly what she needs: A non-judgmental space where she can process her anger about her mothers death and learn how to make playing cards disappear.

Marvelous and the Black Hole is about grief, yes. Sammys family dynamics, including her fathers eagerness to move on and her sister Patricias (Kannon) escapist obsession with an online role playing game called Kingdom Cog, do factor into the story. Its also about cultural identity: Sammy falls asleep at night listening to a tape recording of her late mother reading a Chinese fairy tale, and a section in a magic book about Oriental mysteries makes her question whether she belongs in Margots world at all. But most of all, Marvelous and the Black Hole is a film about how creativity can carry us through the toughest of times.

The film unfolds at a gentle pace, full of colorful, non-threatening characters who treat Sammy with the kindness she needs but cant appreciate right now. Keith Powell, a.k.a. Toofer from 30 Rock, co-stars as Sammys exasperated community college professor, alongside Paulina Lule as Sammy and Patricias gracious soon-to-be-stepmom. The collection of eccentrics that make up Marvelous Margots secret society of conjurers is similarly wholesome: In an initiation ritual full of smoke and bombast, Margot asks Sammy if she brought a worthy snack to their magical salon. (That being said, one of them served two months in prison for cheating at a casino, which Sammy thinks is awesome.)

Read more from the original source:

Marvelous and the Black Hole movie review (2022) - Roger Ebert