Mark
18-12-04, 07:16 AM
THIS is the fourth Hollywood attempt to update Cinderella's image in the past 12 months.
Like its predecessors (The Prince And Me, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and the truly woeful A Cinderella Story), Ella Enchanted aims to reinterpret the classic romantic fantasy from a 21st century perspective.
The ogres, elves, giants and wicked stepsisters might have walked straight out of a Grimm brothers' fairytale but Anne Hathaway's character is a direct descendent of the second wave of feminism.
Ella of Frell is no damsel in distress. Fed up with the "gift" of obedience bestowed upon her at birth, she journeys through her kingdom's darkest forests, battling all manner of demons, in order to free herself of the awkward spell.
Hugh Dancy has the handbag role as Prince Charming, a medieval pin-up boy almost universally referred to as "Char".
Such transparent courting of the film's target'tween audience adds little. In fact, such elbow-in-the-stomach humour actually serves to distance us from the characters.
The casting of such actors as Monty Python's Eric Idle and Absolutely Fabulous's Joanna Lumley, as the narrator and wicked stepmother respectively, suggests the filmmakers had hoped to deliver something with a little bit more edge.
And indeed, Ella Enchanted does have something more than Cary Elwes (who in this film plays "Char's" wicked uncle) in common with Rob Reiner's affectionate 1987 spoof The Princess Bride. But this is the dumbed-down alternative.
In trying to keep a foot in both camps, Ella Enchanted winds up twisting itself out of shape.
Wide-eyed'tweens will probably enjoy this colourful medieval fantasy. Their chaperones, however, are less likely to be impressed by its self-conscious attempts to seem hip and groovy.
ELLA ENCHANTED (PG) Rating: * * 1/2
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Joanna Lumley and Cary Elwes
http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,11564934%255E7622%255E%255Enbv,00.html
Like its predecessors (The Prince And Me, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and the truly woeful A Cinderella Story), Ella Enchanted aims to reinterpret the classic romantic fantasy from a 21st century perspective.
The ogres, elves, giants and wicked stepsisters might have walked straight out of a Grimm brothers' fairytale but Anne Hathaway's character is a direct descendent of the second wave of feminism.
Ella of Frell is no damsel in distress. Fed up with the "gift" of obedience bestowed upon her at birth, she journeys through her kingdom's darkest forests, battling all manner of demons, in order to free herself of the awkward spell.
Hugh Dancy has the handbag role as Prince Charming, a medieval pin-up boy almost universally referred to as "Char".
Such transparent courting of the film's target'tween audience adds little. In fact, such elbow-in-the-stomach humour actually serves to distance us from the characters.
The casting of such actors as Monty Python's Eric Idle and Absolutely Fabulous's Joanna Lumley, as the narrator and wicked stepmother respectively, suggests the filmmakers had hoped to deliver something with a little bit more edge.
And indeed, Ella Enchanted does have something more than Cary Elwes (who in this film plays "Char's" wicked uncle) in common with Rob Reiner's affectionate 1987 spoof The Princess Bride. But this is the dumbed-down alternative.
In trying to keep a foot in both camps, Ella Enchanted winds up twisting itself out of shape.
Wide-eyed'tweens will probably enjoy this colourful medieval fantasy. Their chaperones, however, are less likely to be impressed by its self-conscious attempts to seem hip and groovy.
ELLA ENCHANTED (PG) Rating: * * 1/2
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Joanna Lumley and Cary Elwes
http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,11564934%255E7622%255E%255Enbv,00.html