Unicorn Store (2017) is a story of growing up and finding your own identity in a world of boring adulthood. Brie Larson plays Kit, a woman who is kicked out of art school because her professors didn’t think she fit the mold of a successful artist.
Feeling like a failure, Kit moves back in with her parents and sets out to get a grown-up job in the boring corporate world of PR. Her first day in the office, she chooses her mom’s grey skirt suit. She WILL be an adult who drinks coffee and works in an office and does boring, grown up things like sketches a vacuum on graph paper instead of drawing rainbow kittens for the Mystic Vac account that she is presenting for.
Suddenly, Kit starts receiving glittery, elaborate letters telling her to come to “The Store” because they have what she wants and what she needs. She is skeptical, but intrigued.
Kit follows the address to a vacant-looking storefront with a neon sign, and a mysterious elevator with no buttons. On the top floor, she meets a mysterious and whimsical man known only as The Salesman (Samuel L. Jackson). He promises her a unicorn, but only if she can prove she has what it takes.
The basic prerequisites of unicorn ownership are pretty simple: a fitting place for a unicorn to live, food for your unicorn, financial means to take care of it, and most importantly a loving home.
Kit begins tackling the steps one by one, and in the process meets a new friend named Virgil (Mamoudou Athie), who she hires to help with her construction project.
I won’t spoil anything, so here’s what I will say: the journey of preparing for Kit’s unicorn teaches her a lot about herself and the people around her. It sets her up for success in a world she doesn’t know how to succeed in. She also realizes that her relationship with her parents is a mess and sets out to fix it, which is hard for everyone but also cathartic and healing.
I actually love Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack in this role. They are portrayed initially as somewhat overbearing, well meaning but misguided parents who have a silly nonprofit called Emotion Quest. Through a weekend spent with them and the teens they work to help, Kit learns that her parents are more self aware than they seem, and actually do a lot of good. They aren’t perfect, but they dearly love and accept their daughter just as she is.
In the beginning of the movie, Kit’s sense of fashion and color are seen to stand out in a world filled with neutrals, beiges and greys. When she takes the office job, she tries to fit this mold. Throughout the course of the story, Kit begins throwing little bits of color and whimsy into her outfits — each one is more unique than the last — and by the end she has the most whimsical, fun, colorful style. I love the intentionality of Kit’s self-expression and self-acceptance being tied together in this way.
Brie Larson did a wonderful job both directing and starring in this film. She brings to life a woman who is afraid to grow up and struggles with her identity, which I think every adult can relate to. On another level, Kit is very neurodivergent-coded and I think many neurodivergent people will relate deeply to her, both in the struggles she faces and the wonder that she sees in the world.
Unicorn Store is a movie I didn’t fully understand on my first watch, and I’m glad I took the time to watch it again. I think I would give this movie a 9/10. It’s beautiful, thoughtful, and fun with fantastic acting and great directing. It does leave you with some questions, but reminded me that our world is still full of wonder.
Have you watched Unicorn Store? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.
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