If you are looking for an ideal “kick back and relax” movie that still makes you think, “Robot & Frank” is calling your name.  Released on January 20 at the Sundance Film Festival, “Robot & Frank” has gone virtually unheard of and arrived in Ventura on August 17.

“Robot & Frank” is about a retired cat burglar, Frank (actor Frank Langella), whose son buys him a robot to help out with various tasks around the house and to get the elderly man back into shape. Along with being his assistant, Robot soon turns into Frank’s partner in crime.

Imagine an old man with a robot scoping out a site for their next “job,” and then sneaking into the place to steal expensive jewels.  These sorts of robbery scenes make the movie very intriguing.

Robot proves to be more than a trusty sidekick as he begins to become a friend to Frank.

As the movie progresses, you begin to actually feel what these two friends are going through and by the end, you are wishing you had one of those nifty robots to help you out around the house and be a nice buddy.

This is another great thing about the movie; it gives you a different perspective of what robots can potentially do by highlighting the unique and amazing skills of Robot.  It shows you how robots could be able to help elderly people (and possibly criminals) in the future.

“Robot & Frank” shows see-through touchscreen cell phones, projector home phones, library robots that help locate books, small hybrid cars and many other technologies we are starting to see march into our own world today. Not only that, but it also hints at the following challenges and arguments regarding technology that we could face, and even has a comical allusion to Nazi Germany.

Even though there wasn’t a whole lot of comedy in this movie, it was still funny enough to make me laugh and keep the movie upbeat. The pace of the movie is consistent and easy to follow, and it wasn’t too confusing or dreadfully slow.

The addition of a small love story is also a bonus and, coming from a guy, it is pretty cute and funny seeing two elderly people try to ask each other on a date.

“Robot & Frank” gives a new perspective of robots and technology through an adventurous comical story with a few romantic moments. The unique storyline of the movie makes “Robot & Frank” a must see.