Rockabye Baby Movie Night: We Love Ant-Man Starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly

We love Ant-Man . . . First, it’s a superhero movie about the most unlikely of superheroes, a guy whose main power is to become minuscule and telepathically communicate with arthropods. Forget beefcakes like Thor, I’m totally rooting for this guy; Ant-Man is the geeky, Emo guy of the Marvel Universe. He’s got no laser vision, he can’t fly (except riding on an ant — which is so not sexy) or shoot stuff, and even his suit is retro. The baddest thing he does is burglarize unkind conglomerates and his friends aren’t Avengers, they’re nerdy hackers and guys who talk in tangents. He’s the one all the other superheroes make fun of, but Ant-Man, like tiny guys everywhere, has learned to survive by cracking wise. He’s a funny guy, that Ant-Man.

Paul Rudd on Ant-Man set with director Peyton Reed Photo: Zade Rosenthal  ©Marvel 2015

In short, he’s totally my type. Plus, he’s played by Paul Rudd (also my type). And our hero’s overarching quest? One a mother can get behind: To get back in good standing with his family because he’s such a great dad. Seriously, was this a movie made for comic book fans or for 40-year-old moms? Because Ant-Man has me when our hero gives his daughter the ugliest stuffed animal imaginable, knowing that what little girls really love isn’t My Little Pony but something demented and sad. Do you have little girls? I do, and they love demented and sad. So here’s a superhero movie about a tiny guy in a vintage suit that’s going to battle a high-tech super soldier based on a yellow jacket (a truly evil creature anyway; I got stung by one last week and it still smarts) and save the world so he can hang with his daughter. And I’m in, rooting for the little bug man so that the world will see what we really need are not mad scientists creating crazy contraptions that shrink organic matter down into goo-goo clusters but fathers who care so much about their kids that they are willing to go toe-to-toe with Robotron insects. Whether you are a fan of the genre or not, Ant-Man is good fun, with Rudd’s sardonic humor keeping all the dazzling special effects in check—he’s fighting for sure, but this is also a superhero movie that winks at you while you watch it. But the best part of the film for any parent who has stepped on some tiny toy in the dark and cursed loudly about it is the climactic battle scene that takes place on a Thomas the Train set. The epic scene is hilarious and harrowing all at the same time—a lot like parenting, I guess. Another reason I love Ant-Man is that my dear friend Peyton Reed directed it. So I got to go to the fancy-smancy world premiere in Hollywood. There’s nothing better than seeing a friend succeed in doing what they were born to do, especially when it means that I might get to meet Paul Rudd too.

Director Peyton Reed talks to Ant-Man stars Corey Stoll and Evangeline Lilly  Photo: Zade Rosenthal  ©Marvel 2015

And I’m most excited about—spoiler alert—one of the teasers at the end of the credits that shows the film’s female love interest getting her own vintage, shrinking suit. Yes, it turns out Ant-Man’s girlfriend is the daughter of Janet Van Dyne, a notable superhero in her own right called The Wasp. Finally, a female superhero that’s a mother too! Memo to Marvel, the dads have had their day, it’s high time to see more moms on-screen doing what they already do in real life: kicking ass and caring for kids at the same time.

Have you seen the movie? Let us know what you think!

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