ViewGuide

Created Apr 17, 2008 01:36AM PST • Edited Apr 10, 2014 10:02AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   Clever and cute mashup of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Romantic weddings and the girls who dream of them explain this calculated blend of old-fashioned animation, modern neuroses, borrowed storyline, and oh-so-blue make-believe world.

   I got stuck watching it on an airplane, and while I felt vaguely ridiculous, it mostly held my attention and more than once brought a smile to my lips.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Amy Adams has become the 21st Century Julie Andrews, though she can’t hold a candle to the original (who serves as the off-screen narrator). Still, she acquits herself in quite winning fashion here, benefiting from the interplay she gets from the two terrific male leads.

   Patrick Dempsey, quite the heartthrob apparently, demonstrates movie star charisma, while James Marsden turns in a stellar performance as the dim-bulb Prince Charming. I’d dissed Marsden for his lame X-Men performances, then found him one of the few bright spots in Hairspray. Here he proves deft at self-deprecating comedy to go with his singing and pretty boy looks. I guess I need to accept the fact that the guy is likely to be an asset to most movies he’s in.

   Tim Spall is only slightly less creepy here than he was in Sweeney Todd. The guy is a character actor extraordinaire.

   Susan Sarandon does a devilishly good turn as the evil stepmother.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Good 3.0

    While not groundbreaking in its mix of live action and animation (Who Framed Roger Rabbit broke that ground 20 years ago), Enchanted nonetheless makes great use of the mix.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Very Good 3.5

    Call me a curmudgeon, but the story and dialogue mostly left me flat. Then again, as a grown man I’m clearly not in this movie’s target demographic.

13. Music OK 2.5

    Oscar nominated though the songs may have been, I found them flat and unmemorable.

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.0

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Fantasy 5.0

    Part-animated fantasy.

22. Circumstantial Fantasy 5.0

23. Biological Fantasy 5.0

24. Physical Fantasy 5.0