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Enchanted
Directed by: Kevin Lima
Starring: Amy Adams
Genre:
Fantasy/Comedy/ Romance
Run Time: 107
min.
Release Date:
November 2007
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Let me make it immediately
clear that I’m not a big fan of Disney films. Most (if not all) of them
are overly-schmaltzy, teach kids nothing about the real world, and are
so simple a chimp could follow them. But my twin 19-year-olds (boy and a
girl) wanted to check out this latest mouseketeer event. It isn’t hard
to imagine someone of my nature grudgingly slapping down hard-earned
cash then grumpily sitting with an overpriced and oversized box of
popcorn, ready to be bored out of my mind and intellectually insulted.
What I got instead was a big shock. I’d obviously seen the ads for the
film on television and thought, “Ugh. Another no-brainer.” My initial
concerns seemed justified as the film started and was quickly assaulted
with the two-dimensional animation we’ve all seen during early Disney
tellings. I sank further into my chair, grumbling, “This is super-lame.”
But as the film progressed, and the animation gave way to live action
characters, I began to realize that Disney was ...poking fun at itself?
No. It couldn’t be, could it? But yes, they did, and they did it right!
This is a melting pot of animation, live-action, and animation within
live-action that is seldom seen. That’s a nice score for Disney. Added
to this is the retelling of old fables that’ve become part of our movie
history. A combination of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and
several other commonly seen films are incorporated into ENCHANTED
to give it a familiar yet equally unique story.
Amy Adams (JUNEBUG) stars as Giselle, a soon-to-be
princess recently swept off her feet (literally) by Prince Edward (James
Marsden,
10TH & WOLF); it’s noteworthy to mention this all takes place
in the early animation portions of the film. But Prince Edward’s mother,
Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon,
ELIZABETHTOWN) doesn’t want to give
up her queenly title and throws Giselle down a “wishing well” on her
wedding day. Giselle anti-magically reemerges near Time’s Square in New
York (we’ve now entered the live action portion of the film). Searching
high and low for her castle and her future groom, Giselle quickly learns
that New York is no fantasy world. Jewelry is stolen off her person by
the homeless, her dress quickly becomes soiled, rain drenches her, and
no one is saying friendly things or breaking into happy song.
Divorce attorney Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey,
FREEDOM WRITERS) and
his eight-year-old daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) are on their way home
via cab when they discover poor Giselle. She (again) literally falls
into Robert’s lap and he and his daughter feel pity for this seemingly
deranged woman and take her home with them to help her find a way home
(via cab, subway, etc.). Robert is less than thrilled about having an
attractive woman in the house as he is prepared to pop the question to
his longtime girlfriend Angie (Samantha Ivers,
INSIDE MAN). But Giselle
falls asleep on Robert’s sofa and he’s forced to let her stay the night.
Come morning new discoveries await Robert and his daughter. Giselle, who
can normally call up all the cute and fuzzy animals of the forest to
help her with household chores, decides to do the same here. But her
sing-song doesn’t bring cuddly rabbits and dainty deer. She’s in New
York City, and when her enchanting voice reaches the creatures of this
land, they come in the form of cockroaches, sewer rats, and pigeons.
They still help her clean up Robert’s apartment, but when Robert
awakens, he finds the invasion of his home by insects and rodents too
much and shushes them out of his plush home. He also finds that Giselle
has made a new outfit for herself out of his expensive curtains. At wits
end, Robert takes Giselle to work and thrusts her needs onto the company
secretary who can’t find out where her home is let alone who she is.
In the meantime, the now unanimated Prince Edward comes to the real New
York City, too, and finds it terribly difficult to locate his lost love.
With him comes an assistant of the queen, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall,
HARRY POTTER), who’s job it is to make sure he and Giselle never meet
up. Failing that, he’s supposed to give Giselle a poisoned apple (in the
tradition of Snow White).
When all fails the queen, she’s forced to come to the real world, too,
and does so with frightening ferocity. But can even her powers stand
against true love’s first kiss (a theme that runs throughout the movie)?
It isn’t necessarily the fairy tale items that grab movie-goers but the
failing of those items by those that come from such a land where things
exist and are forced into a land where reality is more brutal. The
reverse obviously becomes true, too, as those who live a hardened life
in the real world come to accept that having a bit of fantasy fun and
believing in the unbelievable can have overwhelmingly positive results
on your life, love, and your happily ever after.
The movie is funny beyond mention, too, with some perfectly executed
scenes (including a dance sequence in Central Park, watching Prince
Edward break into song only to be stopped by bicyclists plowing into
him, Giselle’s continued clothing designs by utilizing various items in
Robert’s home, Prince Edward believing a television to be a kind of
magical looking glass, just to name a few).
The film is touching and, in the end, pretty predictable. But that
didn’t stop young and old from applauding when the film ended. I even
found myself clapping a few times. Wow. Imagine that.
(back to top) |
Image from Enchanted
DVD cost: $24.95
Purchase:
Tower.com (Blu-Ray)
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
In the scene where Edward
is on top of the bus, the people riding on tour buses next to him
laughing and pointing at him weren't extras, but actual real tourists.
Movie Quote: "Don't
sing, you know. It's okay. Let's just walk."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Enchanted
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