Enchanted

June 27, 2008

Enchanted (2007) ***1/2

Directed by Kevin Lima

Enchanted is the right word to describe exactly how I felt about Amy Adams’ performance as Giselle, a princess whisked from her animated homeland to present day Manhattan. Adams commits one hundred percent to this role, always willing to risk looking foolish, which she never does. Giselle could easily have become painfully annoying in the hands of a different actress like, say, Kristen Chenoweth. Adams’ almost valleygirl-esque speaking style brilliantly parodies the forced innocence in the voiceovers for many of the great female Disney characters stemming all the way back to its biggest offender, Snow White.

Though Adams’ performance completely overshadows all of the other great aspects of Enchanted, it’s still very true that the film does contain other great aspects. First of all, James Marsden seems to have equally as much fun in his performance as Prince Edward, Giselle’s knight in shining armor (though his armor is replaced by Victorian velvet). Edward jumps into the well that first transported Giselle into the real world in order to save her and give her a kiss so they can live happily ever after. Marsden, whose role is significantly smaller than Adams’, does light up his scenes with an almost narcissistic personality. Those princes and knights in those Disney movies sure were handsome (usually ridiculously so), and Marsden perfectly embodies their assuredness in order to deliver a great parody.

The elements involving Edward, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) and Giselle, when she’s not on screen with Patrick Dempsey, all work wonderfully. The very best scene in the movie involves Giselle trying to rely on the kindness of strangers in midtown Manhattan, which I’m sure you can imagine doesn’t go over well. If I could have one wish, I’d have this scene extended another half an hour. Actually, I’d base the plot of the entire film on Giselle’s comical assimilation into reality and leave out the love story completely. Maybe I’m biased because I really don’t like Patrick Dempsey at all, and in my tainted opinion, I think he’s awful in this movie. He simply can’t help having the stupidest expressions of shock and wonder. Each time the camera closed in on his face, I was hoping that one of the pigeons cleaning his house might peck him repeatedly in the eye.

The film does go off the rails at times within the love story. At one point, a song breaks out in Central Park. At first, I was put off by how unrealistic this sequence comes off, but then I bought into it when I realized that we are supposed to believe that her existence in the real world also brings an element of fantasy along with it. The Central Park sequence works when seen as the product of Giselle’s magical spell. The songs as a whole are fine, but nothing really all that impressive (which makes me very glad that Falling Slowly from Once beat out three songs from Enchanted nominated in the Best Song category).

The final scenes involving the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) felt completely unnecessary. The movie could easily have ended with the romance at the ball before Narissa shows up. That ending would have made the movie simply a romantic comedy. Instead, we are treated to a clichéd battle which we’ve seen a million times before in animated movies. Unfortunately, these CGI heavy action scenes truly hold Enchanted back from greatness. Also, I wish the chipmunk character had been cut completely, or that the chipmunk himself had auditioned for the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie instead of this one.

Enchanted plays like boiling water and freezing water poured into the same cup. The best elements, especially Adams, are not just great, but spectacular. The less than lukewarm elements, especially Dempsey, weaken the final product. Luckily, what’s great about Enchanted outweighs its shortcomings, and the overall movie succeeded in winning me over, and also in making me a huge Amy Adams fan!