Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror had a lot of potential to be more fun than it was. A Bollywood-like closing number captured the essence of what the film could have been — fanciful, colorful, silly — a cute update of Snow White. There was just one kink in its armor — Julia Roberts. In what must have seemed a coup at casting time, getting an A-list actress to pull in a big audience, unfortunately ended up being a huge miscasting that threatened to sink the film at every turn of the Queen's voluminous hoop skirts.
Julia Roberts, overwhelmed by costumes and character
Mirror Mirror apparently didn't even need to be made in the first place. According to New York Magazine'sVulture column,
“Relativity's decision not to co-finance Snow White and the Huntsman with Universal and instead make their own film to compete with [them] wasn't a wise decision.” Given the limited-to-youth appeal of the Mirror Mirror trailer when compared with Huntsman’s darker, racier, and visually stunning materials, “people are waiting for that ‘Snow White’ film.”
Snow White and the seven dwarves
It doesn't help Mirror Mirror that ABC's much-watched television series Once Upon A Time, with its Snow White/Evil Queen conflict at its heart, is much more compelling viewing than this Roberts vehicle. Why should folks rush out to see this movie? They shouldn't and didn't. The Hunger Games once again dominated the box office last weekend while Mirror Mirror took 3rd place and $19 million — not much considering its over $85 million budget.
As the film opens, Roberts intones in a strangely accented voiceover, that this story will be about the Queen, rather than Snow White. And therein lies the rub. Roberts has been a welcome presence in rom-coms in the past, but she is definitely a most contemporary actress. When she tries to act in a story that isn't set in the current day the results, like Mary Reilly, are disastrous. Mirror Mirror is a fairy tale, and Roberts is much too far out of her element. She lacks the arch delivery needed to make her Queen truly evil. She's just mean and bitchy and bored, and not much fun to watch, despite the fabulous costuming by the late Eiko Ishioka. What's worse, she knows she is not right for the part and telegraphs her discomfort in a series of lackluster line readings, each word delivered seriously, without a hint of irony or wicked glee. In two scenes she even desperately utilizes her trademark guffaw, but it is out of context and inappropriate.
All the costumes by Eiko Ishioka are exquisite, but the animal headdresses at a ball are especially fanciful
What a different film this could have been if Michelle Pfeiffer had been cast as the Queen. Or Uma Thurman or Meryl Streep or even Kim Cattrall.
But there are a few highlights. Tarsem Singh (The Cell, Immortals) brings his usual visual flair to scenes, playing with scale and injecting a sense of the fantastical into the proceedings. There is a lovely animated opening sequence, a Beast that lurks in the forest, and some lethal puppets employed by the Queen that all add to the film's imagery. Mirror Mirror's best scenes include Snow (Lily Collins) with the seven dwarves, who are a combination of the usual cutesy personalities with a grittier approach, reminiscent of Time Bandits. Snow and the Prince, played by Armie Hammer (frequently shirtless, one of the other high points of the film), are also great together. Nathan Lane is always fun to watch, and tries to have fun with the banter in his scenes with Roberts, but you can tell he would have been beter paired with someone who could have bantered back. Sean Bean aso makes a brief but extremely welcome appearance as Snow's father, the King.
Sean Bean and Nathan Lane are welcome additions to the cast
I couldn't help thinking of Notting Hill, a film with Roberts that I like, where she plays the ultimate American movie star who falls in love with an English bookshop owner, played by Hugh Grant. During the course of the film there are clips of some of Roberts' fictional blockbusters, including a Joan of Arc-like science fiction space saga, and the filming of a version of a Henry James novel. It's one of the film's in-jokes that she is not really suited for these roles. It's not so funny that her career is now becoming this fiction. At some point Hollywood has got to give up on stunt casting with a big name to rake in a few bucks. If they simply aren't suited for the material it is bound to backfire. Like most everyone else, I'm holding out hope for the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman, which comes out on June 1, and looks like a more interesting twist on the Snow White fairy tale. Charlize Theron will play the Evil Queen, an actress who I have no doubt will not only be able to portray true wickedness, but more importantly, have fun doing so.
Hollywood is not really a town, if you've ever visited. Not a town like the small one that some folks come from, or a bigger one, like where I live, here in D.C. But every once in a while Hollywood puts out a movie that takes place in "a small town," just like the ones that we know never really existed, but maybe would like to visit, or at least pretend to live in, for ninety minutes to an hour. And it's clear that the key to the attraction is as much the locals as the remote location.
InDoc Hollywood Michael J. Fox plays his usual smart-ass, this time as a hot-shot doc wanna-be Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who lands smack dab in the middle of the squash capital of the South. After waking to a morning skinny-dipping goddess vision and a pee-in-the-woods mating ritual, he is smitten with the girl, the town and its cast of kooks and so are we. And it's got Woody Harrelson in a good bit part, among others. Anther film with the same small town fish-out-of-water fun is the brilliant Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray reliving a day and getting to know everyone and everything really well until he gets it right. He also is in one of my all-time favorites. What About Bob, where he takes over Richard Dreyfuss's vacation, family and life ably abetted by some helpful neighbors.
Julia Roberts manages to lure Richard Gere from the Big Apple, or is it the other way around, in Runaway Bride? The Maryland town she is supposed to inhabit is full of a bunch of people you'd want to hang out with. Any town that sports Joan Cusack would be worth looking into. There are strange, unexplained details that make you wonder. What's with all the multiples? There are different sets of twins and triplets in many background scenes. Maybe it's something in the water...Housesitter, directed by Frank Oz, is another small-towns-and-romance-go-great-together movie, where Goldie Hawn insinuates herself into Steve Martin's life after a one-night stand. It's interesting, because we watch her fall in love with his house and his life and his family and (most of) his friends and have to wait impatiently for him to catch up. Oz hits another home run with In and Out, which has Kevin Kline slowly but surely discovering his inner homosexual and learning that everyone in town still loves him as much as we do. The final scene where everyone parties down so that his mother can get the "wedding" she always dreamed of is pure fun. And again, Joan Cusack lives there.
Casablanca is a classic, with the magnificent Bogie and an exotic collection of individuals all trying to escape from something. Wartime and romance are major plot points, but as the credits roll, I am secretly glad that Bogie has decided to stay in Casablanca with Louis and fight the good fight. It sure seems like they're going to have a hell of a time.
There are some other excellent movies that have fascinating small towns that I am glad I only have to visit for a little while, as they would be terrifying to live in full-time. Hitchcock must have been fascinated by small-town America, because he depicts it many times, all to sinister effect. Two of my favorite of his movies, Shadow of a Doubt and The Birds turn the safety and familiarity of living in a place where you know everyone on its head, as one town is hosting a serial killer and the other is besieged by unexplained deadly bird attacks. A holiday classic, It's a Wonderful Life, actually shows a town, that no matter how wonderful some of its inhabitants are, would be a pretty rough place to have to live. I'll pass, thanks.
I don't live in New York any more, but once you have, it never quite leaves you. New York is not a small town, but there have been a few film fantasies that somehow manage to get a sense of the city. Guys and Dolls is a real slice of Broadway history, both musical and depicting the sorts of characters that used to hang out near Times Square. A far cry from the Disney theme park that exists there today. And Marlon Brando sings! The Godfather, Part II is a crime classic, but it also gives a slice of what it meant to be an Italian immigrant in this country, coming through New York. Another fun film set in downtown New York is After Hours, the ultimate trip through SoHo in the 80s with Griffin Dunne being dragged from one bizarre situation to the next. Woody Allen is well-known to be in love with his home town New York and has made movies set in the city many times, but as an ex-new Yorker, I don't really get a strong sense of the city, except as travelogue, in his films. Hannah and Her Sisters is one exception, where the SoHo and downtown sequences seem truly "the city," as Michael Caine tries to seduce Barbara Hershey in bookstores, her partner's painting studio, and on the street.
So whenever big city life gets to be a bit much, I know I can retreat to one of these film oases. Any other favorite film fantasy small towns?
