Sunday, November 25, 2007

I just got back from Enchanted...

...and I was a little bit disappointed. Not in Adams - the girl has magic - but in the film itself. Just too many talking animals and ill-advised CGI dragons for my taste... they seemed to be pandering to the little kids in the audience, of whom there were many in my theater. For every spark of magic, there was a CGI chipmunk routine that just lingered onscreen for too long. And that was annoying. BUT I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. I just thought the film could have been much better, when in fact it's quite disposable but for Adams and the other lead actors.

Amy Adams as Giselle lives up to the hype. She really goes for it with this character, and brings the cliché Disney princess icon to life. But what surprised me is how good James Marsden and Patrick Dempsey were as her two love interests. Marsden is just as committed to his role as Adams is to hers. He's dreamy as the silly-but-charming Prince Edward. And of course he gets to sing again, which is nice. And Dempsey anchors the film as the audience surrogate who finds himself slowly falling in love with Giselle. I never understood the fuss about him before (I don't watch Grey's Anatomy), but he was a very effective leading man here. And Susan Sarandon is a hoot as the evil queen, though not necessarily for the right reasons. She's not particularly good in the role, it's just fun to watch her try something like this. It's kind of a Jodie Foster-in-Inside Man kinda thing.

Sadly, the leads aren't quite done justice by the film around them. It's quite frustrating, too, since it seems like there's a really great film in here somewhere, but it's constantly undercut by lame CGI, overexplanation of plot, and lack of character development, despite the actors' best efforts.

Awards chances for Amy Adams:
Golden Globe nom - locked
Golden Globe win - likely
Academy Award nom - possible
Academy Award win - unlikely

Awards chances for the film:
It will be big at the globes. I think the box office and the Adams hype will carry it into the top category, and the score and at least one song should find nominations, too. Probably 4 noms in total. Dempsey or Marsden could get attention in the lead actor category, but I'm betting they'll split each other's support and end up cancelling each other out.

Oscar-wise, I think the film is looking at a song nom and possible score nom, as well as Amy Adams for best actress. Nothing else is happening, I don't think. And Adams is no lock either; the film is REALLY fluffy. It's certainly no Mary Poppins. And even Pretty Woman was much more dramatic. But it will make a lot of money, and Adams is kinda having a "Julia Roberts by way of Julie Andrews" moment (quote: Joe Reid). So the nomination may well come to pass. The win, though? I doubt it. But you never know.

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6 Comments:

Blogger RJ said...

Initially, I was doubtful, but I'll be damned...Amy Adams could really pull this off. Best Actress this year is insane. The frontrunners are a previous winner in a movie released in, what, June?; an essentially unknown actress in a critically shrugged at French film; and a disney princess. Of course, we do have the Linneys, Pages, and Knightleys as well

3:47 AM  
Blogger Glenn Dunks said...

I can still see it happening.

Blanchett - recently won, BUT different category
Cotillard - foreign
Christie - won before (yes, even a long long time ago), tiny film
Linney - dependable, an Oscar curse
Page - too young

and the others in contention would be a surprise to see nominated let alone win at this point.

9:29 AM  
Blogger Glenn Dunks said...

Also, this just occured to me, Disney could campaign for Adams by way of not only "a star is born" type ads, but also "the best female performance of the year is one for the whole family" and "the best performances are the ones you don't expect". You know? They need to divert attention away from Cate Blanchett playing Dylan, which everyone will go "duh" about and say "hey Academy members, this is your chance to reward a big hit AND one you can show your grandkids"

Make sense? Cause it does to me.

9:41 AM  
Blogger Glenn Dunks said...

...and especially if the old myth is true that Academy members just give their voting forms to their family members and that they vote for who their family likes.

Or whatever. I'm tired and I'm off to bed.

9:43 AM  
Blogger adam k. said...

Well, having seen the film, I just don't think it's an oscar winner. One of the things that annoyed me about it was that they didn't include any BIG final scene for Giselle where she reflects on her love for McDreamy and her new, more layered humanity that she's found. They found time for a lot of other unnecessary shit at the end, but they couldn't find time for that. Argh.

And that leads me to believe they never intended for this to be anything but a fluffy money maker... which leads me to believe they won't fight for this nomination at all, let alone the win. At least she has the globes to get her started, though.

It just frustrates me that with a little more attention in the script, this part could've been something really fantastic, but as it is, it's just a Disney fluff piece that Adams happened to elevate to another place. They should've focused more on Adams' character and her evolution, and cut down on all the stupid talking animals and stuff. Sigh.

10:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doesn't the whole performance, from her first sensation of anger through the climax at the ball, effectively show Giselle dealing with all those things? Is it really necessary to set up a scene that highlights and underlines this fact any more explicitly? Seems to me that would have been too "on the nose", so I'm glad the screenwriters sidestepped that one.

Agreed about the dragon, though.

1:49 PM  

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