Not My Type of Movie: Enchanted

Enchanted
Directed by Kevin Lima
Released November 21, 2007

From the time I first heard about this film to the moment I decided I would go see it, the hype and good reviews had made me forget that it was, after everything, a Disney chick-flick musical. The hybrid with the animation and I had no problem with that, but once they moved from the animated world to the real world, a.k.a. New York City, I found myself constantly cringing and rolling my eyes. The film is not bad; it is just not for me. I do love Amy Adams, but her over-stressing of every single word and elevation of her voice to a high pitch is not the type of thing I enjoy very much. Timothy Spall and James Mardsen give their best efforts to be as ridiculously "animated" as they can be, and the results are certainly better than Patrick Dempsey, whose performance is almost as impressive as that of a door. The songs are nothing special, and far fewer in fact than I had anticipated. The film stands way over the line of believability, which is fine, bringing in Central Park bystanders to its musical numbers and placing the animated world's portal under a pothole in the center of Times Square, but it is wearying taking it all in. The obvious references to past Disney classics are clever but nothing more. Maybe if I was a slightly younger girl, I would have had a better time.

C

Oscar chances: Amy Adams is bouncy and flowery the whole time, but I think the Best Actress race is pretty much locked up. The songs are hardly memorable, but "That's How You Know" probably has the best shot out of the bunch. "True Love's Kiss" making it in would give me a headache.