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Mr. And Mrs. Moriarty Are ENCHANTED By Amy Adams!
Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
Capone just shamed me. When I opened that e-mail from him with all those finished reviews in it, and I looked at my own open document with a list of films that I haven’t written about, I was just filled with shame and frustration. I’ve been on the road with my family, and I’ve been striking, and I’ve been finishing stuff under crazy deadlines just before the strike... and that all adds up to me being very, very behind at everything else.
So I’m going to match him. I’m going to tag-team with him, putting up one of mine for every one of his that I’m putting up. He’s sent in so many today that it pretty much guarantees I’ll be sitting here at this desk until laaaaaate tonight. But so be it. Let’s do this.
A few weeks back, my wife and I snuck out mid-afternoon, just after putting Toshi down for a nap. We left his grandmother in charge and sped across the valley to the Disney lot, where they were showing ENCHANTED at the Frank Wells screening room.
I find that my wife goes to fewer screenings these days. She’s expecting again, and it’s got to be something she reeeeeeally wants to see before she’ll volunteer to sit for two hours in a theater seat. As soon as we saw the first trailer for ENCHANTED earlier this year, she told me that she wanted to go to any screening of it that I attended. She’s a Disney fan, and it’s a particular span of Disney films that she likes most of all. THE LITTLE MERMAID. BEAUTY & THE BEAST. ALADDIN. THE LION KING. The entirely unsurprising monster hit phase of the early ‘90s. When Disney could do no wrong. They used the princess archetype, a refined and vaguely post-modern update of the classic Disney heroine. That’s the character she likes most, the thing that attracts her to those films. ENCHANTED is a pretty canny blend of PRETTY WOMAN and ROGER RABBIT, a high-concept romantic comedy that not only makes room for a happy ending but that positively demands one on a thematic level. This is an affectionate satire of Disney films as a genre, but it’s not looking to destroy the genre. If anything, it is a potent reminder of how good they are at exploiting this particular formula.
The script by Bill Kelly benefits enormously from having Kevin Lima attached as director. Kelly’s a clever high-concept writer. I don’t really love the films he’s written previously (BLAST FROM THE PAST and PREMONITION), but I can see that he likes to riff off of his high concepts. ENCHANTED has a few inspired moments where it all pays off, but it also misses its fair share of opportunities. The biggest miscalculation in the way it’s scripted is the underdevelopment of Patrick Dempsey’s character. He’s the romantic lead, but he’s a zero in terms of actual character. All the good material goes to Amy Adams as Giselle and James Marsden as Prince Edward. And that’s not a complaint, per se, since Adams and Marsden are both great in pretty much every moment they play. Adams has been revving up to stardom for a while now, with rich dramatic work in films like JUNEBUG and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, and with appearances on THE OFFICE and in TALLEDEGA NIGHTS showing that she is a sharp comedian as well. Finally, she’s got her star vehicle, her showcase that is going to make her a bankable movie star. Little girls are going to love her, and women are going to find her approachable and real and enormously appealing. She gets every little tic and mannerism just right in playing the live-action version of Giselle. She never exaggerates it too much, but she also never drops the carefully built characterization. She’s not of this world, but the longer she lives in it, the more of it she soaks up. Sure, it’s a riff on what Daryl Hannah did in SPLASH or what Tom Hanks did in BIG, but the success in a performance like this is when the character successfully makes us see things through different eyes. Giselle is so sweet, so unflappable, that she makes New York City feel like a Disney backlot, complete with musical numbers that ably deliver the feel of the early ‘90s hits for the studio. The best is the cleaning number she does in Dempsey’s apartment, but it’s also the one that comes the closest to tipping into full-blown parody. Marsden seems to not only understand that fine line but practically dances on it, daring himself to tip over. This is his second great song-and-dance role this year, along with HAIRSPRAY, and it seems to me like Marsden’s been reborn as a performer. His work in the last few years is the best he’s ever done, and if he’s ever going to get a shot as a real leading man, now’s the moment. He seems to have figured out what it is he loves doing, and ENCHANTED benefits from that new energy of his.
Some of the comedy is forced and broad. Susan Sarandon’s Wicked Witch is sort of phoned in, and barely used until the third act, which would be more fun if the film spent more time laying the groundwork for it earlier. Timothy Spall looks like an animated character anyway, but he struggles with some of the worst stuff in the script in his scenes. Because the bad guys are sort of soft and weakly drawn, the film never really gains any momentum in terms of dramatic tension. Still, that won’t bother most viewers. I think ENCHANTED is just good enough. It’s not the best version anyone could have made of this film, but it’s good enough. I have a feeling this is not only going to be one of the bigger hits of the fall, but that this is not the last time we’ll see these characters. If you want to read something that uses some of these same notions that will blow your mind and that is genuinely innovative, check out the entire run of Bill Willingham’s FABLES. But if what you’re looking for is inoffensive fun that gives you something to do with the family this weekend, ENCHANTED more than fits the bill.
And, hey, watching the exact moment someone goes from working actor to movie star is always fun, so check out Adams here so you can say you were there when it happened.
I’ll have more of my reviews tag-teaming with Capone’s all night long, into the early hours of the holiday. Be back soon.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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I hadn't heard your wife was expecting. Godspeed to you and your family sir.
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Congrats man...! Don't kill yourself with the overload!
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Pumpin' out those kids at a right good pace, eh? Keep up the good work!
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I took a lot of crap for my less than favorable review of this film. I loved Adams and I loved Marsden, but thought a lot of the rest of the story wasn't thought out, and so many of the scenes didn't seem to make sense together. There were just a bunch of cute jokes and scenes that must have sounded cute when pitched on their own, but none of them really told a story. I love cute, sweet, magical fun films. But this one had a lot of problems. This weekend I"ll just watch Ratatouille or a classic Disney film again, rather than see this. But I agree, it's perfect for kids. It will be a hit and I suppose I'm ok with that. I can't get past a lot of it, but I'm glad most people can.
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Should be interesting
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My wife's also expecting and says she really wants to see this and after I almost put her into labour with Beowulf 3D I reckon she deserves it!Looks really sickly sweet mind but i'll grin and bear it.
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Hey Moriarty, great review. Curious, what did your wife think of the film?
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... she liked it a little more than me, but two weeks later, she's fuzzy on the details. She said she was rooting for Marsden and Adams to end up together, which seems to me to indicate the movie's unbalanced a bit. But, still... enjoyable.
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Nov 22, 2007 2:22:44 AM CST
SPOILER: Moriarty's lack of understanding of the Female Princss
by headgeek
At my screening many of the ladies were disappointed with Adams hooking up with the real world man instead of Marsden. It's because Marsden - would always love and protect her. He's dedicated and believes in eternal love. Dempsey isn't obviously that type of man.
However, I really don't feel he was under-developed -- If anything, he's the most developed character. And as for him falling in love with Amy - dude - rewatch the Central Park scene... As soon as it becomes a musical number - he is besmitten. You see that spark in his eye as she does something, or as someone else is doing something because of her. It's that exact same look in your EYE, Moriarty, when you look at me. A longing that you can only dream of. But as long as your lust for me continues to drive you to create new dwarves... That's fine, at least you're using that unrequited love for something positive. -
Harry, you've gone batshit insane from seeing this movie, but it's hilarious so keep it up! :^D
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Glad to see it get some love. By the way, congrats Mori!
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telling me that we'd be owning this movie when live together next year, and that we'd be watching it every time it came on cable.
And I don't understand the wife not liking Adams and Dempsey hooking up, she obviously loved him more. Marsden's character didn't even want to talk to her and didn't understand the concept of a relationship.
I've said too much all ready. -
Amy Adams in the Buffy episode about Tara's fucked up family? yup, i win the biggest dork prize for this morning.
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The fact you compare it to FABLES shows that. That's like comparing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy; sure, they're sorta near the same genre, but that's about it. This is a fun family flick, and it succeeds nobly on that score. Probably the best film my wife and I have seen since THE PRESTIGE.
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but I don't know how this movie can be good. Mori, you and Harry have now forced me to take my girlfriend to this movie. I hope I am pleasantly surprised.
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... I got it. I just thought it half-assed its premise. It takes the path of least resistance, dramatically speaking, at every turn. It's amiable, the cast is charming, but I still think it falls short of what it was intending. I just brought up FABLES as an example of someone taking these same basic icons and pushing the idea for all its worth.
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You see, this is the kind of stuff that keeps me coming back to this site...
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A lot of the subplots were underdeveloped, especially the relationship between Patrick Dempsey's character and his girlfriend who he was going to propose to. This takes all of the drama out of when he had to choose between Giselle and her because the film focused on him and Giselle and she was merely an afterthought so him leaving his girlfriend of 5 years means nothing. Oh yeah, and Amy Adams was incredible in this film.
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you secretly hope there's a really dirty girl behind all that sweet wholesomeness.
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star of RENT and WICKED... in a Disney musical... and she DOESN'T sing? What the hell is up with that?!?! I do think that having Jody Benson, the girl that voiced Ariel, as Patrick Dempsey's secretary in an extended cameo was neat though. Good on her.
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her song was cut from the movie, but disney has confirmed it will appear on the DVD release
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What this movie was aiming for and what you were wanting it to aim for were two vastly different things. That's why I say you don't get the film. It's just trying to be an all-ages "fun" film. I don't go into a Michael Bay film expecting Shakespeare, and so I'm not disappointed; no different with this one.
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Amy Adams
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When I first moved out to LA about three years ago, one of my coworkers took me to a party at the apartment of a girl named "Amy Adams" who was apparently "the nurse" in Catch Me If You Can. It was around the holidays and she was hosting a glog party with her scruffy, geeky boyfriend. I remember looking into her eyes as she poured glog into my mug, and she was just so sweet it was irresistible. So, no, I don't think she's a dirty girl. Incidentally I also met Mena Suvari at the party. She was a total bitch and look at where her career is. Personality goes a long way!
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Nov 26, 2007 12:39:59 AM CST
I've met tons of celebrities and you know what?: their short
by stormwatcher
Except Tom Welling, he was tall. The rest, all short, especially Danny Devito. He was really short. Also Shania Twain, man that chicks a smurf.
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"not only (does it) makes room for a happy ending but...positively demands one". Of course she had to get with Dempsey. This plot is not supposed anymore complicated that that. The plot is a cute clever and funny satire and it works.
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