Enchanted- review
May 27th 2008 08:06
I am a man of many contradictions. And as such I am not afraid to admit my love for Disney movies. Sure, you can tell me they're Americanised, mass-produced, marketing tools. But I have a soft spot in my heart for them. Especially the classic 40s and 50s films.
Enchanted was a breath of fresh air. A nice return to family entertainment and innocent movie fun; before everyone in the world seemed to turn cynical and needed to see graphic violence, nudity, swearing, etc, in every single movie which is released.
The premise is simple enough. Cartoon princess (in an animated prelude) Giselle (played to perfection by the 'next Julie Andrews' , Amy Adams) dreams of meeting Prince Charming. And indeed she does. Only to be shoved into a magical portal by the jealous prince's stepmother (Susan Sarandon). Her destination? 'A world where there are no happy endings'! Namely, New York City, 2007, in our reality.
She meets world-weary cynic, and a divorce attorney of all things, Robert (Patrick Dempsey, of Grey's Anatomy fame). What ensues is a very amusing and heartwarming culture-clash Odd Couple-esque comedy. You don't need a PhD in astrophysics to correctly surmise that this naive, innocuous princess is going to end up with the jaded, loveless lawyer.
Several performances stood out in this film. The show really was stolen utterly by Timothy Spall (the great British character actor who has appeared in everything from Sweeney Todd to The Last Samurai) as the evil stepmother's lackey. And by the leading lady. Adams is a very charismatic, likeable, pretty, and charming protagonist, and one really finds oneself barracking in her corner; especially whenever she is imposed upon by misery-guts and general grumpy-bum Robert. Her performance as the simple-minded fairytale princess is wonderful in its childlike innocence.
The soundtrack by Disney veteran Alan Menken was nominated for several Oscars this year (winning none, unfortunately), and it stuck in my head for days afterwards. I just couldn't yank those hooks out of my cranium!
The movie has some great in-jokes for the benefit of long-term Disney fans, and tonnes of references to prior movies in the canon. Much of the humour comes from Giselle's unfamiliarity with this strange new realm. ('Why don't you just call him?' 'I don't think he'd hear me from here!' ) And there is some wonderful gender-reversal themes in there, too (the princess rescues the prince in distress, rather than vice versa).
The movie put a big smile on the face of even this old cynic. It gave me renewed hope that maybe real love does still exist in this miserable instant gratification obsessed world. I thought it was wonderful, a great star vehicle for Adams (trust me, she'll go far. I checked out her Wikipedia article afterwards, thinking that she seemed familiar somehow. Turns out she had a small role in Buffy, season five, as Tara's aunt), a charming story, a great self-parody, and a visual and musical feast. Thumbs up.
Enchanted was a breath of fresh air. A nice return to family entertainment and innocent movie fun; before everyone in the world seemed to turn cynical and needed to see graphic violence, nudity, swearing, etc, in every single movie which is released.
The premise is simple enough. Cartoon princess (in an animated prelude) Giselle (played to perfection by the 'next Julie Andrews' , Amy Adams) dreams of meeting Prince Charming. And indeed she does. Only to be shoved into a magical portal by the jealous prince's stepmother (Susan Sarandon). Her destination? 'A world where there are no happy endings'! Namely, New York City, 2007, in our reality.
She meets world-weary cynic, and a divorce attorney of all things, Robert (Patrick Dempsey, of Grey's Anatomy fame). What ensues is a very amusing and heartwarming culture-clash Odd Couple-esque comedy. You don't need a PhD in astrophysics to correctly surmise that this naive, innocuous princess is going to end up with the jaded, loveless lawyer.
Several performances stood out in this film. The show really was stolen utterly by Timothy Spall (the great British character actor who has appeared in everything from Sweeney Todd to The Last Samurai) as the evil stepmother's lackey. And by the leading lady. Adams is a very charismatic, likeable, pretty, and charming protagonist, and one really finds oneself barracking in her corner; especially whenever she is imposed upon by misery-guts and general grumpy-bum Robert. Her performance as the simple-minded fairytale princess is wonderful in its childlike innocence.
The soundtrack by Disney veteran Alan Menken was nominated for several Oscars this year (winning none, unfortunately), and it stuck in my head for days afterwards. I just couldn't yank those hooks out of my cranium!
The movie has some great in-jokes for the benefit of long-term Disney fans, and tonnes of references to prior movies in the canon. Much of the humour comes from Giselle's unfamiliarity with this strange new realm. ('Why don't you just call him?' 'I don't think he'd hear me from here!' ) And there is some wonderful gender-reversal themes in there, too (the princess rescues the prince in distress, rather than vice versa).
The movie put a big smile on the face of even this old cynic. It gave me renewed hope that maybe real love does still exist in this miserable instant gratification obsessed world. I thought it was wonderful, a great star vehicle for Adams (trust me, she'll go far. I checked out her Wikipedia article afterwards, thinking that she seemed familiar somehow. Turns out she had a small role in Buffy, season five, as Tara's aunt), a charming story, a great self-parody, and a visual and musical feast. Thumbs up.
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