A still from ‘Rennervations’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner plays cricket with schoolkids in a Rajasthani village in Rennervations, and that’s the least surprising aspect of his latest documentary. Rennervations is special for a number of reasons with the numero uno spot going to the fact that it’s the Avengersactor’s first on-screen appearance after his snowplough accident in which he broke more than 30 bones. Unlike his recent films and series that have been high on action, Rennervations is meant to be a feel-good documentary that shows us the human behind the actor. Good intentions can save lives but not a show, and Rennervations, despite having its heart in the right place, is a mediocre miniseries with a few good stretches.
For those who watch enough automobile shows on History TV and Discovery Turbo, the concept of renovating old and rusty vehicles into usable, road-legal ones, is anything but new. But Renner’s new show, at least on paper, is more than that. It’s about giving back to the community, and the show picks up an intriguing idea of choosing four charities and making customised vehicles suited to that particular charity’s need.
For Chicago’s Base, it’s a Mobile Music Bus while for Mexico’s Casa Hogar, they build a Mobile Dance Studio. Reno’s Big Brothers Big Sisters gets a Mobile Recreation Center and for the Indian-based Uva Jagriti Sansthan, a Mobile Water Treatment Center is made from scratch. If that’s not enough, Renner oversees the operations and brings in a celebrity friend for each episode to present the modified vehicle to the charity. Apart from cameos featuring Anthony Mackie, Vanessa Hudgens, Anil Kapoor and Sebastián Yatra, we are also introduced to Renner’s business partner Rory Millikin and their crew of fabricators.
Rennervations (English)
Creator: Jeremy Renner
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Vanessa Hudgens, Anil Kapoor, Sebastián Yatra, Rory Millikin
Episodes: 4
Runtime: 45-50 minutes
Streaming Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
Storyline: Jeremy Renner teams up with celebs and helps communities in need by renovating decommissioned vehicles into purpose-built ones
Rennervations tries to be a feel-good show about community service, and it does tick all the right boxes. However, it comes off largely as a boring documentary that rarely entertains. For starters, the builders are given a deadline to turn dilapidated buses and trucks into unique projects on wheels, and we see them cracking their heads over coming up with solutions. It does beg the question of why a vehicle made for underprivileged children be completed within a timeframe. Even if we go past the obvious doubt of why Renner has 200 plus space-munching vehicles, ranging from a humble buggy to firetrucks, the limitations, challenges and altercations that arise while building the vehicles feel more fabricated than the trucks themselves.
Renner, despite being a brilliant actor, isn’t a great show presenter, and it shows when he interacts with the children under the care of the charities. Of course, the emotions displayed and the tears spent are unquestionable but the video calls he makes to his celebrity friends who agree to the task even before Renner completes his sentence feel more staged than the one the fabricators build for the Mobile Dance Studio. Surprisingly, it’s Rory who brings the much-needed entertainment quotient to the show. The banter between him and Renner is fun. The starting credits feature Renner saying, “I want to make actionability and thoughtfulness of others cool as f***,” only for Rory to retort with a “You can’t say f*** on Disney, dude.”
It’s the episodes featuring Anthony Mackie and our very own Anil Kapoor that feel more organic thanks to their charismatic off-screen persona. Mackie’s episode features a nostalgic shot of the two Avengers actors briefly travelling on a military Hummer that’s juxtaposed with their scenes from the 2008 war film The Hurt Locker. But it’s the final episode featuring Renner’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolco-star Anil Kapoor that steals the show. Unlike the other stars who join their respective episodes just to shake a leg at the end, Kapoor appears throughout the fourth episode, mocking Rory, discussing plans with the fabricators, giving ideas that make it to the final design and of course, shakes a leg.
Unlike the first three episodes which deal with finding solutions to comparatively easier problems, the Indian episode deals with building a mobile water treatment plant for children who don’t have access to clean drinking water. The beautiful way in which the episode shapes up also makes you wonder why it’s the only one outside the North American continent and why it couldn’t be – like Renner’s recent films – a globe-trotting show, that helps those in need across other areas like Africa and the Middle East where more lives are lost due to lack of basic needs.
Renner’s best moments in the show are when he explains his love for theatre and music. Bender, one of his key fabricators also tears up and shares a story of how he was bought up in foster homes. But these passionate and poignant stretches are too limited in number for a show that strives to make us shed a few happy tears. Despite showcasing the importance of community service, and what big positive differences can be made when able minds come together, Rennervations is a painfully simple show that almost fails to entertain.
Rennervations is currently streaming on DIsney+ Hotstar
