filmy

I rented a couple of movies that I had wanted to see in the theaters when they came out, but never got to. And I just have to plug Redbox Rentals here...a buck for a 24-hour rental of a new release is a pretty good deal! Anyway, I haven't "reviewed" any media picks in a long time, so I thought I'd tell you what I thought of these two.

Nancy Drew

The Flick: Inspired by the iconic children's mystery book series, the movie follows girl-sleuth extraordinaire Nancy Drew as she leaves her small-town home of River Heights for a few months in California with her father, Carson Drew, who requests that Nancy give up sleuthing. She experiences a new school full of overly-trendy, materialistic teenagers who don't seem to get her old-fashioned, polite, and wholesome ways. She also goes against her father's wishes and undertakes the mystery of the old house where she and her father are living--a cold case involving the death of the movie star who had lived--and died--in that house.

The Cast: The movie stars Emma Roberts (niece of Julia) as Nancy Drew, and to me she was the most recognizable actor in the film (with the exception of Bruce Willis, who has a cameo). Rachel Leigh Cook, Chris Kattan, and Adam Goldberg also appear in the movie. Other than that, I didn't recognize any of the cast. This may be part of the reason why I felt like the acting was mediocre. Emma and the young actors supporting her are adorable and funny, but it's evident that most of them have little to no experience. Emma has a very TV-sitcom style of acting, which is probably because she has her own TV show. That cute, quick, and slightly bratty affectation that probably makes her so popular on TV is exactly what keeps her from being believable on film, especially as this classic character.

The Story: I feel like the writing for this movie was under-developed and disconnected. I think the writers had a lot of good ideas about what it would be like to put old-fashioned Nancy in a modern, West Coast high school setting. Those ideas are what caused the trailer to make this movie look so funny. Then there was the mystery aspect--a built-in guarantee for action, adventure, and some fun special effects. And there is even a storyline that follows Nancy and Carson's father-daughter relationship as well as the void left by Nancy's mother, who died when Nancy was young.

But somehow all of these ideas didn't ever get tied together for the hilarious, thrilling, and heartwarming story it should have been. Several of these little plot points were never really explained; you could see where the story meant to go, but the elements weren't there. A montage of scenes shows Nancy excelling and failing to fit in at her new school. This introduces Inga and Trish, two materialistic and rude girls who are equally weirded out and intrigued by Nancy. Of course, what we should see is these two girls starting to form a friendship with Nancy in spite of their teenage capacity for loathing. But what we see is a hippucy sequence of interaction between the girls that somehow ends ends in them being friends. We never have that moment where Nancy teaches the girls something and then the girls come through for Nancy in a big way. We just get the girls flopping onto Nancy's bed and showing her their new penny loafers, thus endorsing her vintage style. And now they're best friends?! All they take away from this experience is a new pair of shoes?! That doesn't do a lot for me.

And that storyline doesn't tie in to the mystery plotline at all. At random times, Nancy's friends are thrown in to helping her with her sleuthing, but they never really get invested in solving the case (with the exception of her hometown friend Ned Nickerson). Ned is actually my favorite character. Played by the adorable Max Thieriot, he seems to be the most developed and least overacted role in the film. He obviously is in love with Nancy, and seems to be the one person who gets Nancy and knows what makes her happy--sleuthing and her Roadster. But he's in that kind of high-school relationship where you've been friends for so long that now you don't know how to get the point across that you really like each other. And Max plays this card so well. But other than Ned, no one seems to take the case seriously, until all of a sudden Nancy is catapulted into one dangerous situation after another and now it's action/adventure time. Even the mystery is a little lame, and the people and clues are all sort of loosely connected.

I don't think I'm expecting too much from this movie; after all, I liked the High School Musical movies. I like movies that are meant for 12-year-old girls. But this one disappointed me. I think this movie had the potential to be fun for kids and yet charming for older audiences. But it turned out to be a Disney Channel Original-caliber fluff piece with a couple of nice moments.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

The Flick: Mr. Magorium is a 243-year-old eccentric who owns a toy shop. Ready to depart from the world, he attempts to pass the store on to his 23-year-old store manager, Molly Mahoney. In doing this, he hires Henry the accountant to help set things in order for Mahoney. However, Mahoney doesn't want to accept the fact that Mr. Magorium must go sometime or the fact that she must take responsibility for a magical toy store.

The Cast: Dustin Hoffman stars as the magical, silly, and ultimately wise Mr. Magorium. He's one of my favorite actors, so it's hard for me not to like him. That being said, he is able to play this eccentric character with an incredible sense of integrity. Natalie Portman stars opposite Hoffman as Mahoney. I think the last thing I saw Portman in was "V for Vendetta," so it was fun to see her in a such a playful film and role. She balances her obviously ability for depth with a lovable capacity for cuteness, which combines to sell this character--a 23-year-old former child music prodigy who is trying to find a "sparkle" within herself to lead her from childhood to her next step in life. It may just be the short haircut, but she has this Julie Andrews quality that allows her to be the child in some situations and the grown-up in others; to be reassuring to people around her although she is ultimately confused and worried on the inside.

Jason Bateman and Zach Mills round out the cast as, respectively, the uptight accountant Henry and the 9-year-old, imaginative hat collecter Eric. Although at opposite ends of the personality spectrum, Henry and Eric both relate in their inability to relate to and make friends with other people. I love Bateman from "Arrested Development," and it was easy to see him as a workaholic with an intense need to experience a childhood that he probably left too early--similar to his role as Michael Bluth. Mills has this quirky, animated quality that really works for him, as he plays a kid that seems at many times to be as imaginative, brilliant, and wise as Mr. Magorium himself. Watching him bring out the child in Henry is so rewarding.

The Story: The film is written and directed by Zach Helms, who also wrote "Stranger Than Fiction." This guy is, I'm pretty sure, a genius. He has a writing style that is so literary; you would swear he had adapted his films from a book written by some great author. Nope; HE is the great author. And his vision for this story is so clearly threaded throughout the film. I don't understand why this movie got as poor reviews as it did. Anyone with a soul should be able to appreciate the highly imaginative and yet amazingly simple ideas in this story--the difficulty of moving from childhood to adulthood, the importance of believing in yourself, and the need for friendship. Mr. Magorium, wanting to help Mahoney with all of these aspects of her life, becomes the philosophic voice of the movie. And so many of his lines can stand alone as great quotes. When explaining to Mahoney that he must leave at some point, he has this great line about how the play "King Lear" ends...

"When King Lear dies in Act Five, do you know what William Shakespeare has written? He’s written, 'He Dies.' That's all, nothing more. No fan fare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of the dramatic literature is, 'He Dies.' It takes Shakespeare’s genius to come up with, he dies.

I know, right??! Another great example is when Magorium is explaining to Henry why he needs his affairs set in order: "I fell so completely in love with these shoes, I bought enough pairs to last my whole lifetime. This is my last pair."

I don't understand why this movie wasn't given more credit. Being released amid a flood of fantasy films, this one still manages to show great originality in story, setting, and overall delivery. I was in tears like 3/4 of the time I was watching. It was touching, moving, inspiring, and very charming.

I'll probably go buy my own copy.