Yet another version of the fairy-tale, updated for the teeny-bopper set. Hilary Duff is the hard-done-by beauty forced to slave for her wicked stepmother (the ever-amazing comedienne Jennifer Coolidge -- "Stifler's Mum") and her two miserable and gawky stepsisters, the butt of ridicule at her California high. But she has a dream of going to Princeton (whence her prince will come), a supportive make-believe family at the diner where she works, and a secret internet lover. For someone proportedly held back financially, one wonders where she got her convertible, her computer and her cell phone, but presumably these are considered staples for the modern teen. She discovers the identity of her Prince Charming before he twigs hers; isn't it amazing how wearing an eye-mask can stop one being recognized -- kind of like Clark Kent and his glasses? And as in all fairy tales we get our happy ending, even if it is a little mean-spirited towards her former oppressors. A harmless, if completely unnecessary, diversion.
Having just been staying in a household with young children, I have been exposed to "The Chronicles of Narnia" for the first time -- I did resist seeing it at the cinema. I think I will reserve judgment for the nonce, until I've viewed it under less distracting circumstances, but first reactions included noting the high production values, admiring the human casting (in particular Tilda Swinton and the youngest child), and thinking that some of the voice-casting was not quite right (I didn't like the Cockney beavers and felt that Liam Neeson was wrong as Aslan). But I'll return to this film eventually.
1 comment:
her convertible, computer and cell phone - how could anyone survive without these?
I saw Narnia through sufference - as I expected, they couldn't improve on the BBC original, and didn't. And Ronald Pickup's purr was much warming than Mr. Neeson.
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