“Enchanted”
Witty, cute, charming, adorable, sweet, funny, romantic, entertaining, wholesome, enchanting … these are just a few of the many adjectives in this positive vein that I could come up with for this movie.
The premise is simple and there are no real surprises as the story unfolds. Amy Adams, an unknown actress to me but absolutely spot on as the soon-to-be princess Giselle, begins as a typical Disney cartoon maiden searching for ‘true love’s kiss.’ It comes in the form of Prince Edward, played by the perfectly chiseled James Marsden.
But like all fairy tales, there must be a wicked step-mother/Queen (Susan Sarandon) who attempts to destroy true love by sending Giselle away. Far, far away…. to New York City! Giselle is quite out of her element, but with true peppy, fantasyland optimism she patiently waits for her Prince to save her while whipping all of New York’s humans and animals into a singing and dancing frenzy.
Naturally Prince Edward does embark on a noble quest to rescue the fair maiden with brave chivalry and a fine singing voice as his weapons. And equally as naturally, the evil Queen does all she can to thwart the rescue. Patrick ‘McDreamy’ Dempsey gets caught up in the action, totally against his will and better judgment, but it is obvious in the first seconds where that part of the storyline is going!
As I said there are no real surprises, but that hardly matters one whit. The delight is in how it plays out. The joy is in watching Adams uncannily embody a cartoon fairytale princess down to the hand gestures, wide-eyed innocence and trust, and gown making skills. The thrill is in seeing Sarandon strut imperiously, wave her magically sparking hands, and cackle with evil glee. The humor is in the too-cute talking chipmunk and the fantasy meets real world craziness with gentle mockery of both. The charm is in being reminded again and again that true love can exist and conquer all obstacles. The sweetness is in knowing for cert that happily-ever-after will be the end to the tale.
Probably no shock coming from me, but I can heartily recommend this film. Valuable lessons of life and love are doled out liberally amid the amusing chaos. A true, family film!
Well my daughter and I finally got to see Enchanted!!! What a hoot, we laughed a lot of the way through. And typical of me and my loving mush and romance I got teary in some places.
It is very entertaining, another DVD to add to the collection when its released. We loved it.
Funny that you mention your son thought it lame, because as we were leaving the cinema a young boy said "That was the worst film I’ve ever seen" I had a private chuckle, thinking poor boy it really is a girly film.
One of my fav parts was while still in cartoon The Prince gallantly jumps on his horse and calls out "Ride Destiny" excellent stuff. Amy JAmes and Patrick were excellent in their roles.
Now we’re trying to pluck up the nerve to watch Atonement, but we don’t fancy getting depressed just yet.
TSBO devotee
Vee
Thanks Sharon,
This is a definite must see for me. There can never be too much romance in the world even if it is tongue in cheek. I look forward to seeing this one for sure!
TSBO devotee
Vee
Hi Sharon, have you seen "Stardust" yet? If you loved "Enchanted" then you would really like this lovely fairy story with a nice ending. No sweary words either. Robert de Niro is in it. I have heard good reports on "Enchanted".
Amy Adams isn’t a well-known actress–yet, but she should be! She’s also been in the movie "Drop Dead Gorgeous", which came out a few years ago. She also starred in a little independent movie called "Junebug". Hopefully, Princess Giselle will be her breakout role!
Thank you, Sharon, for your reviews on the movies and your Thanksgiving greeting and history lesson. You do keep us well informed.
Amy Adams was in the movie "The Wedding Date" with Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney. She played the sister to Debra’s character. I don’t know what other movies she has been in, but I remember her from "Wedding Date". I think I also saw her in a TV show but I can’t remember which one. It was a guest spot on the show.
Thank you for your continuing forms of education with your movie reviews and "Darcy Saga" updates. It is always interesting reading your little tidbits of information.
Take care and God Bless.