‘Fing!’ Proves That Love Matters More Than Any Gift You Can Buy — Sundance

Imagine what Matilda would’ve looked like if her parents were actually two loving librarians and Matilda was less of a sweet, magical child and more like a spoiled brat a la Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. If your mind is spinning, wondering what that film would look like, you’d be delighted to find out that the film exists. Enter Fing!, a wonderful tale on what the most important ingredient in parenting really is: love. 

Two librarians fall in love and get married; they are Mr. Meeks and Mrs. Meeks, and refer to each other that way throughout the film. Mr. Meeks (Blake Harrison) and Mrs. Meeks (Mia Wasikowska) had a bundle of joy they named Myrtle (Iona Bell). When Myrtle was a baby, she would cry and cry and cry. One day, Mr. and Mrs. Meeks gave Myrtle a toy, and the crying stopped. This led them to believe that the key to a happy child is gifts. The result of their abundant giving: an extremely spoiled and entitled little girl. 

Each year for Myrtle’s birthday, the gift requests would get even more exorbitant. Another birthday has rolled around, and Myrtle makes the impossible request of a Fing. Her parents have no idea what a Fing is, but since they’re librarians, they head to the library to research. Miraculously, even to Myrtle, they find a Fing for their little girl, which turns out to be the one thing she didn’t have, but also the one thing she ends up needing the most. 

On the other side of this story is the Viscount (Taika Waititi), owner of a failing wildlife park that specializes in exotic animals (not to be confused with a zoo).  The Viscount is cared for by his Nanny (yes, he has an adult with a nanny) and is equally as spoiled as Myrtle, if not more so. Viscount discovers that Myrtle has a Fing and is envious. He wants the Fing for himself to bring business to his park and stop the banks from trying to foreclose on his business.

But the Fing is not a toy. It’s a ball of living chaos, utterly uncontrollable and nothing like what Myrtle expected. She orders her parents to return it. But before they can do so, the Fing begins to warm to Myrtle, and they start to bond. The Fing even helps her make her very first friend, next door neighbor Tyler (Sidhant Anand), who introduces her to the power of the rock ballad.

The action kicks into high gear once the Viscount stops at nothing to get his hands on the Fing. And it’s here that Bell begins to peel back Myrtle’s cold exterior, revealing the truth of what she’s been feeling all along. Before Fing, Myrtle seemed unfazed and uncaring. But in truth, she’s just a young girl who tried to fill a void with material things. Now that she’s actually felt the bond of a friendship, she’s discovered something no gift can replace.

Based on the bestseller of the same name by David Walliams, Fing! is a whimsical story about how the best things in life can’t be bought in a store. Myrtle’s parents fueled her bad behavior by indulging her greed. Their lack of backbone made their child unlikable, leading to her having no friends, which in turn perpetuated her bad behavior, which was more of a cry for help because of how lonely she felt. 

The ensemble cast is perfection. Bell successfully portrays a spoiled and unlikeable child. There are moments you may actually find yourself rooting against her because she’s that annoying. But the more time we spend in the Meeks’ house, the more time we get with her delightful parents, who anchor the story with their love and warmth. Harrison and Wasikowska are wonderful as Mr. and Mrs. Meeks, perfectly embodying both the gentle spirit of librarians and the well-meaning frustration of pushover parents. The Viscount is right up Waititi’s alley; he effortlessly struts through the role with all the privilege and elitist attitude you’d expect. His line delivery is stellar as always and elicits many laughs from the audience. And we can’t forget the loving Nanny, played with quiet charm by Penelope Wilton. Together, this dream cast brings every corner of the story to life with heart, humor, and just the right amount of chaos.

Fing! features a color pop set design, funny scenes, and a big heart.  It’s a film about loving the people you have, not the things you own. Children will delight in the furry chaos of Fing while recognizing Myrtle’s universal wish for a friend. Parents will appreciate its gentle takedown of materialism, and everyone will agree: librarians are the unsung heroes of this utterly charming story.