This is what happens when you want to make a film about family togetherness, but your kids want to see The Goonies. Sure, why not make both? What could it hurt, I mean other than it’s impossible to take either story seriously.
I’m still trying to get over the part where the Brooklyn kids feel “punished” for “having to go to Hawaii.” As a boy, I had a family vacation that messed with my life, too. I couldn’t pitch in the league championship because my parents took an RV to Idaho. And nobody is boohoo-ing me, either. Nor would I expect them to.
Lemme back up, Pili (Kea Peahu) is a scavenger huntin’ fool. It’s too bad there’s no cash in geocache, knowwhatI’m sayin’? Or is there? She and her older brother are summoned to Oahu where grandpa is dying. Or is he? Look, this is all just a weak excuse to let transplanted Hawaiians get back to their roots. I can’t believe it’s that hard. You want me to go live in Hawaii for a while instead of Brooklyn? No offense, Brooklyn, I‘ve been there; I know you have plenty to offer, but you ain’t Hawaii. If Pili balks excessively, I will gladly be her for a summer to get back to Oahu.
The story is different once they get there, of course. Grandpa doesn’t seem to be dying so much as he’s bored and Pili –who cannot not be nosy – finds a treasure map inside a hidden diary. And, check it out, the movie has switched genres before my very eyes. The map is written in English, Spanish, and 
Hawaiian, so this will take a joint kid effort. Say, Pili, why do you know Spanish? “I got tired of telling people I’m not Puerto Rican, so I just learned it.” HA! Score one for the film.
‘Ohana, I believe, is Pili’s family Hawaiian heritage that -I’m guessing- got lost on the Q Train near the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb. In Finding ‘Ohana, however, the name means whatever you want it to – Hawaiian heritage, hidden treasure, sunlight, grandpa’s sanity, Greg Brady’s tiki idol, whatever. It doesn’t matter. The point is something is missing at the start of this film and the film can’t end until all the family members and some extras find it. What’s missing is unimportant; what truly matters is that the film got to advertise Oahu and throw in a little “Drunk History” in process…I’m not kidding about the latter; even Chris Parnell –a DH regular- shows up for historical re-enactment.
At least Finding ‘Ohana discovered cinematography. I’ve seen a number of films set in Hawaii and relatively few understand that a swimming pool and coconut tree isn’t enough to convey the feel that this place is never cold and always has a bitchin’ view of something. Finding ‘Ohana is the kind of film that tries to win children with a treasure hunt and parents with mushy togetherness. I’m not sure either story works, but I dug it enough to see it through. Mahalo.
Pili treasure hunted without fail
Yet found her legacy sadly stale
Dude, you’re from Oahu
What has your life come to?
If you don’t want your heritage, is it for sale?
Rated PG, 123 Minutes
Director: Jude Weng
Writer: Christina Strain (which is immune to the Cheese vaccine)
Genre: There are things you didn’t know about Hawaii, and some of them we made up
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Treasure hunters
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Childless adults
