Okay, here's the deal. Ever so rarely, there'll come along a movie that I really don't wanna see. (It does happen. Even for the guy who watched Cabin Boy twice on Cinemax 'cause there was nothing better to do....) On those rare occasions when I'm resisting a film, usually it's the trailer's fault. Either it's sloppily done, cut too fast and fuzzy, or worse yet, you feel like you've seen the whole movie just from the trailer. The plotline looks stupid as a box of rocks, the actors all look vacant, and there's no sense of "whammy, that might be fun" after you see it.
It happened to me with Barb Wire. Sorry, Pam, honey, but that thing had burning Hindenburg written all over it. ("Oh, the humanity....") It took the always appealing Mary Stuart Masterson and the promise of chicks-in-chaps to drag me into Bad Girls. That sense of impending doom seeped through the cracks of my mind when I saw the first trailer for The Postman. I'd weathered Waterworld, and now, they were going to punt the whole thing across dry land? Whew, no thank you. And, lo and behold, we get mediocre-at-best drivel about a renegade mailman forming a new country. I'm sorry, but the post office can hardly get my checks out to the exes. They build a country -- count on it taking an extra hundred years.
And, here a few weeks ago, I was sitting in the dodecaplex, and I get this flash of color across the retina as a new trailer appears for a movie starring Drew Barrymore. Coming off a wonderful bit in Scream, and a jazzed-up performance in The Wedding Singer, there was light at the end of the tunnel. But hold the white courtesy phone here. Princes, stepmothers, step-sisters, what is this? Another Cinderella remake? For the love of pork...who needs this? Didn't Brandy just do this for Disney? For that matter, didn't Lord & Lady Streisand just give it a once-over in The Mirror Has Two Faces? Ground glass crept into the joints in my neck, and I felt my eyes tighten in my skull. Hey, there's Anjelica Huston. Not a good sign. Rented out to add some legit. What a drag.....
Cut to this past weekend. I ran my mouth off and made a bet with Martha Nell that I could name a hundred books about film that should be required reading. And, I just would be danged it I couldn't get past 82 on the list. My penalty for losing? I had to take her and Jaynell to see Ever After, the Cinderella thing with Miss Drewtoy. So, kickin' and clawin', and digging my heels into the buttery carpet in the lobby, I let myself get dragged into the theatre.
Imagine my delight when I saw, not only a good movie, but one that could just get Miss Drewtoy back on a winning track again as an actress instead of a kissyface star. She's that good here, and that made all the difference in the world.
A nice class-act starts the story as French actress extraordinary Jeanne Moreau, playing some 19th century countess or duchess is welcoming two men into her home. These fine fellows, two brothers named Grimm, make themselves comfortable, and the countess/duchess/whatever tells them a story about a relative from years ago. Borrowing their traditional beginning, she starts with, "Once upon a time...."
In flashback now, we're introduced to Danielle (Barrymore), also known as Cinderella. Danielle's father has passed away while she was a child, and now, as a young woman, she's being treated miserably by her cold and hateful (notice I didn't say "wicked"?) stepmother, played by angelica Huston. Danielle is educated, she is opposed to any sort of slavery or servitude, and she has one hellacious throwing arm. One day, after sneaking into town dressed as a rich woman, she catches the eye of Henry, Prince of France (the legendary "handsome prince", as played by Dougray Scott). He is snagged by her beauty, but he's also impressed by her learning and attitudes about right and wrong. Needless to say, they fall for each other.
Pass the Kleenex though. Stepmom is less than thrilled that this relationship is on the move, and she plans and schemes to keep the inevitable from happening. But, thanks to a semi-Fairy Godfatherly-type Leonardo DaVinci (Patrick Godfrey), all works out in the end. Like you thought it wouldn't?
Folks, this movie is a wonder to the eye, full of the images that bore the legends through the passing of time. Director Andy Tennant (Fools Rush In) has learned quickly how to set a picture into motion rather than just dressing a set and burning Kodak. We have castles, sparkly gowns, sterling horses...blonde hair is golden and black hair is jet black, and any other color you could want is freely thrown in. He also, to his credit, kept this thing decently rated PG-13, with the questionable stuff mainly being centered around Danielle's father dying and some minor violence. Keeping it geared toward the younger crowd makes it much more appealing than forcing the issue by jacking up the gore quotient. It plays much the way some of the last few Disney animated features have. Obviously for the kids, but appealing to adults on the sly. Tennant also didn't try to go hogwild with the CGI stuff for the "Fairy Godmother" angle, something that had to have been in his mind at some point. These days, transforming a pumpkin into a coach could've been heralded as the next miracle of modern man, but it's never an issue here. Good choice, Andy.
He also gets a major push from his casting choices. Huston has always been one of those actresses that's lovely to look at one minute, and positively frightening the next. It's what made the whole Morticia Addams thing work for her. Something about her reminds me of those porcelain dolls -- smiling beatifically, but chillingly hideous at the same time. Call it a coincidence or not, but she also looks remarkably like Disney's animated version of the stepmother. Newcomer Dougray Scott has a good thing going as the good-looking hero dude, and he puts surprising voltage into what could have been a role fit for a store mannequin. (But whatup with that name -- Dougray...? Sounds like a birth certificate smudge.)
But the story here is Miss Drew's turnaround as an actress. We've all seen her "painted lady-teen trollop" attitude done to death. Finally though, she seems to expect more from herself. Scream gave us a taste of acting instead of flashing tattoos and lip-licking. She was fantastic in The Wedding Singer, holding her own in a comedy, against Adam Sandler, a proven difficulty for even the likes of Daman Wayans. Here, she has to pull off the dual task of strong woman and romantic lead, something that takes a delicate balance of talent. She looks radiant when she should, and she looks rough when she should. She's lost some of the constant defiance that was in her eyes, and allowed romance to take a new hold on her life. I actually wondered more than once if she and ol' Dougray were, uh, trying on the old glass slipper, if you know what I mean. There's that much chemistry between 'em. They look like they've been in love for lifetimes. Most actors their age don't have that look between them during a love scene. They do, and it pays off for the realism.
There are the occasional stumbling blocks to be sure, namely that the whole story drags its feet, and the "falling in love" timeline may throw some hardliners (the Ball is not the first and only sighting of Danielle by Henry. This is still love at first sight, it's just not before the stroke of midnight), but being overly picky here isn't the issue. The issue should be that Tennant has managed to make a family picture without talking animals and fart sounds. He's taken a time-honored fairy tale, boosted it a bit, and made a 16th century version of a '90s movie. A strong female lead, with new ideas and visions, instead of a simpering idiot, like most of the girls in those stories. A male lead with as much character as the female, instead of a granite sculpture with a ten-word vocabulary. And a female villain more compelling than a host of typical tough guys, proving herself with ice in her voice instead of fists and feet.
Surprise yourself, like I surprised myself. Give some thought to seeing Ever After. It's not a kiddie movie, it's not a "chick flick", despite every indication of both in the trailers. It's an intelligent, pretty, and fun movie. It might not be the story as you remember it, but you won't be disappointed with the changes. No talking mice or singing, just good acting, and a lovely Drew Barrymore.
Image copyright 20th Century Fox.
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in for observation