Blind Prophecy

Thank the sweet baby Jebus that week is over. Not anything in particular I can point to as stressful, just the sum total of a lot of things.

After cutting out of work early, I went to see Enchanted by myself (because I’m fairly certain my friends would have made fun of me for even asking). Mostly I wanted to see my boyfriend James Marsden, but it was cute and fun.

After the movie, Jennifer, Jenna, Ken and I made plans to grab some dinner, but I still had some time to kill between the movie and dinner, so I tried to do some holiday* shopping. No luck finding anything that caught my attention today, but I did get to see the Macy’s tree at Union Square. Between the cold weather and the twinkly lights, I’m getting into the seasonal spirit. Notice my big goofy smile…

* This blog is a proud supporter of the War on Christmas

…or not.

So, the first thing I have to say about Enchanted is that I want my boyfriend James Marsden’s job. Just in the last 3 years of films, he’s been the coolest mutant ever, made out with Scott Speedman, made out with Jesse Bradford, got engaged to Lois Lane and helped Superman save the world, and hosted a popular dance show in 1960s Baltimore… and now he gets to threaten boring McDreamy with a sword, stab a bus, become an animated character, and enter the pantheon of Disney Princes. I’m impressed that he’s equally believable as an arrogant narcissist, a troubled and closeted gay man, an action hero or in romantic roles.I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I don’t understand why my boyfriend keeps getting cast in roles where he’s the “other guy” in romantic situations. He’s getting typecast as the guy who seems perfect, but ultimately isn’t the guy for the girl. At least it looks like he’ll get to be the guy who wins the girl (and it’s Katherine Heigel) once and for all in 27 Dresses (if it follows standard romantic comedy rules).

Anyway, Enchanted is a cute movie that will probably be overlooked at Oscar time. Susan Sarandon chews the scenery as an evil sorceress in a cartoon world who, fearing her step-son will marry and take the throne, banishes the maiden Giselle to a world where “there are no happily ever afters” – a.k.a. Manhattan. Soon, a plucky sidekick Chipmunk and Prince Edward follow after Giselle, who clearly needs rescuing. Their efforts are hampered, though, by the presence of Nathaniel (a.k.a. Harry Potter’s Wormtail), a toady of a man in love with the wicked queen. Luckily for Giselle, a single father divorce attorney comes to her aid, and two very different outlooks on life, love and “happily ever after” collide.

You can probably guess at most of the rest of the plot. It’s 1 part parody of all previous Disney Fairy Princess movies (Giselle can call animals to help her clean by singing out the window–but cockroaches, flies, pigeons and rats are the NYC vermin who answer her calls in the real world), 1 part romantic family comedy, and 1 part homage to all previous Disney Princess movies (recreating famous scenes from Snow White, Cinderella, etc.).

There are enough adult jokes to keep the young-at-heart happy, like the exchange between Giselle and the six-year-old daughter about the only thing boys want… neither of them knows what that is. Children will enjoy it for all the obvious reasons. The themes may be over their heads (redefining feminism in the realm of fairy tales, cynicism versus optimism, finding a balance between diving head-first into a relationship and being afraid to ever commit), but the messages are wholesome and not terrible values to pass along to kids.

Overall, I give it 3 ball gowns out of 5. The music, frankly, wasn’t that great and the story was highly predictable, but the movie has heart. Most of the movies I’ve been watching lately have been dark and depressing, so this fluffy bit of fun was a nice antidote.

Filed under: movies by Jere Keys