Let me set the scene: It is a Sunday afternoon. Cuz Randy, wifey Jill and myself have decided to go to a movie.
I have suggested No Country for Old Men, Randy wants American Gangster, while my dear wife wants Enchanted.
Guess which film we ended up seeing: Enchanted.
A couple minutes after the lights go out, a musical number starts. At that same moment, I start to contemplate killing everyone in the theater. I am, you see, not a fan of musicals. Personally, I want them relegated to soundproof theaters with big, flashing signs warning potential victims of the torture that awaits them.
My wife looks at me, and then glances around trying to calculate the best possible escape route.
Guess what? I left the theater delighted at her choice.
Now before anyone emails me with suggested musicals, I did want to permanently silence the crooner of the final number.
Enchanted is a film that, despite four musical numbers (two of which are pretty good), weaves a magical web of vivacity and joy.
This film is helped, in no small part, by a fantastic cast. Every role seems to have been perfectly cast.
We have Amy Adams as Princess (there HAS to be a princess) Giselle. Giselle sits around singing, with the many woodland creatures, while waiting for her prince to come along with true love’s first kiss. No sooner does she finish singing (actually, he hears her singing) when Prince Edward (Delightfully played by James Marsden. Who would have thought the most boring X-Man would end up being so fun?) comes along. They meet and decide to get married the next day.
Prince Edward has a wicked Stepmother. Said WSM will lose her crown if Eddie boy marries. Now, being wicked, she takes steps to prevent that.
The WSM casts Giselle through a portal to a land in which happy endings do not exist: Earth.
Up to this moment, the movie is animated. Once the action moves to Earth, the film becomes a live action film. This is where the fun begins.
So now Princess Giselle is wandering NYC, very confused and very vulnerable. She falls into in the lap of Robert (Patrick Dempsy), a divorced single father lawyer, and his daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey).
The rest of the film consists of Prince Edward following Giselle in hopes of rescuing her. He is followed by the WSM’s henchman Nathaniel (Timothy Spall). Edward is a delightful doofus who, despite all of Nathaniel’s attempts to throw him off the trail of his true love, eventually finds Giselle.
As I said, the cast is simply amazing. Having seen the film, I can’t imagine anyone else filling these roles. Amy Adams gives the naïve Princess a certain level of spunk that keeps her from being dull. Marsden is an absolute hoot and Susan Sarandon is so delightfully evil that I don’t know if I will be able to watch Bull Durham again.
Three are four musical numbers, two of which are fantastic. When Giselle decides to clean up Robert’s apartment, she sings a happy working song that draws all of the little critters to help her. Since this is NYC, she ends up with an apartment full of rats, pigeons and cockroaches. Who knew vermin could be so helpful?
The other really nice one is a massive song and dance piece done in Central Park. Robert is delightfully baffled when EVERYONE around automatically knows the song Giselle is singing and all join in.
We get a handful of extras that is pretty damn good. We get three featurettes that show us the magic behind the 3 live action musical numbers. Each of these is fantastic and really made me appreciate all of the work that went into them.
There are some deleted scenes, none of which are too important, and a throwaway adventure featuring one of the critters from the movie.
Enchanted is Disiney having fun with its tradition. I am not a fan of Team Rodent, but I have to give them credit for putting out a film that both carries on the standard that has made Disney a world-wide Icon, all the while making fun of those very traditions that Disney has religiously adhered to. It is almost as though somebody removed the big old stick that has been up the butt of Disney for the last several decades.
If this is any indication of future Disney, they may just enter the 21-century yet.
Enchanted will be enjoyed virtually anyone that has both a pulse and a heart.
Order Enchanted from Amazon.
Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
