the fairest of them all

Fairy tales have been always been popular with old and young, but recently they have been enjoying a pop culture resurgence, with television programs like Once Upon A Time and films like Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror, Mirror, and Tangled. Fairy tales are designed to be spun and embellished — there are no definitive versions. At least that is the concept behind The Fairest of Them All, the latest book by Carolyn Turgeon. Turgeon's dark romantic fantasy poses the intriguing question — what if Snow White’s evil stepmother turned out to be another familiar fairytale heroine, like Rapunzel?

Clearly a tale like Snow White's or Rapunzel's is still ripe for retelling, and Turgeon is comfortable in the world of fairy tales, with two previous novels re-imagining favorite heroines Cinderella and the Little Mermaid, in Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (2009), and Mermaid (2011). In The Fairest of Them All she writes from Rapunzel's point of view. Rapunzel still lives in a tower in the middle of an enchanted forest, and she has that long, luxurious hair, but she is also a 17 year-old witch-in-training who has not much knowledge of the outside world — especially the ways of men.

Carolyn Turgeon

Rapunzel lives with her guardian, the witch Mathena, who seems to be a more sympathetic creature than the old woman who kidnapped the young Rapunzel from her radish-eating mother in previous versions of the tale. Part feminist, part cautionary tale, The Fairest of Them All examines how Rapunzel's world changes radically when she catches the ear and eye of the handsome prince Josef. But what happens when Rapunzel, with the help of her beauty and more than a little magic, is able to realize her dreams of winning Josef's love and becoming his queen? And it's a package deal, as widower Josef has a beautiful young daughter, named Snow White. Complicating matters, and Rapunzel's world view, is Mathena's wedding gift — a magic mirror.

Turgeon manages to makes all of her heroines' stories engaging, even when they are doing and thinking things they oughtn't. Although the author is clearly familiar with the Brothers Grimm and Disney, The Fairest of Them All is a distinctly adult spin on some classic stories. The lush prose pulls the reader in, as the story takes Rapunzel and then Snow White for some unexpected twists and turns that will still surprise the most avid fan of folklore. Turgeon proves that there are still exciting stories to tell and retell, featuring beloved fictional characters.

Originally published as Book Review: ‘The Fairest of Them All’ by Carolyn Turgeon on Blogcritics

snow white and the huntsman

The title says it all. The strengths of the latest film to retell the fairy tale of the girl with "skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair black as coal," Snow White and the Huntsman lie with the princess and her unexpected ally, the huntsman. Kristen Stewart, probably relieved to not have to sit or stand around and sigh while her supernatural boyfriend waffles on what's the right thing to do, takes charge of her own destiny and is a Snow White for the modern age. Chris Hemsworth continues to prove he is matinee idol-worthy as the title character, a drunken, broken-hearted widower who may have found something, or someone, to believe in.

Charlize Theron gives her all in her role as the evil Queen Ravenna. She tries, she really does. She is certainly beautiful, and is garbed magnificently in amazing and fantastic costumes by Colleen Atwood that incorporate such materials as ravens' and beetles' wings. She favors eating the hearts of small birds and sucking the energy out of female beauties to maintain her youthful complexion and magical power. But unfortunately, every time Ravenna or her completely horrid sycophantic (and psychotic) brother Finn (Sam Spruell) are on screen the energy gets sucked out of the movie. Ravenna is so evil, so horrible, and without the slightest trace of humor that there is no chance for the audience to connect with her. The script has her rave about how she has been mistreated by men, but there isn't enough backstory to garner any understanding or sympathy. She is depicted as just mean and crazy, which may have worked for Disney's animated Queen, but there is nothing cartoony or over-the-top in this performance — it's just uncomfortable to watch.

Happily, once we get past most of Ravenna's evil torture scenes at the start of the movie the rest and bulk of the story belongs to Snow White and you-know-who. In the current style of the day, Snow does have another fella who is mooning after her, Prince William (Sam Claflin), a childhood friend, but the film's title and Hemsworth's sheer magnetism should give the audience the hint that anyone else who is vying for Snow's heart is a non-starter.

The look of the film is extraordinary, and does help to get one through the darker or slower parts. The much-lauded special effects that help transform great British character actors Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, and Brian Gleeson into dwarfs is remarkable. There is also a nod to Disney magic, when Snow first encounters a beautiful forest, untouched by Ravenna's evil, full of friendly fairies and animals that bow at her feet. Final verdict? Director Rupert Sanders may have served his second-billed (!) star better by dialing down Ravenna's evil, and making Chalize less loathsome, and thus opening his film up for a wider audience. But Snow White and the Huntsman is entertaining. It's a visual feast and a Snow White for adults only.

mirror mirror

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's Vulture 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.

six year-old infomercial outrage

My daughter was making some angry-sounding noise last night while I was making dinner. I peeked around the corner from the kitchen and heard her loudly objecting to a commercial on television. She seemed genuinely upset, exclaiming that, "It couldn't protect you from a flood—it's not an umbrella!" I finally figured out that she was yelling at an insurance commercial.

I had flipped on PBS Sprout, a channel we hadn't watched in a while, while I made dinner, figuring that it would be something quiet and fun for her to watch, as we both wound down from our day of kindergarten and work. Sprout usually features more gentle cartoons like Make Way for Noddy, Caillou and Kipper. What I had forgotten was that it wasn't all cartoons any more, Sprout plays (lots of) commercials. And not just commercials, but the As Seen on TV commercials.

How had I forgotten that this channel was responsible for our owning a Pancake Puffs griddle? The kid had become obsessed with the Pancake Puffs ad two Xmases ago, so Santa succumbed. I am of two minds about all of this. On the one hand, I think it's pretty shady of any kids-oriented network to run the hard-pitch ads. On the other hand, they aren't running ads for all of the brightly colored multi-part toys.

Advertising and marketing is everywhere. Kids know who Ronald McDonald is before ever eating a McNugget. It takes real research and effort to avoid Disney and other franchise branding on everything from pajamas to underwear. I try to keep the product placement merchandise to a minimum, but I'm not going to "protect" her from the world she is growing up in by trashing a brand, like my mother did with me and Disney. Still not sure why my mom hate(d)(s) Disney so much. She said she saw Snow White when she was a kid and the witch scared her, but that can't be it, can it? All I know is the only way I ever got to see a Disney flick was if I was going with a friend. Mom wouldn't take us.

I guess the most interesting thing about this, is that although we have cable television and primarily watch a lot of commercial-free programs or our own dvds, my daughter still responds to commercials, as strongly, or more than, the show she is actually watching. The Space Bag and Pillow Pets commercials mesmerize her. When I was her age there was still only one channel, the public television station, that was commercial-free. And cartoons were on Saturday mornings. of course i can probably still recite the speecy spicy meatball commercial . . .





So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that in a world with many more channels, more choices, her responses may be amped up a little too. But it makes me think maybe tomorrow for her little bit of T.V. we'll switch to ad-free (still I think) NickJr or Boomerang . . .

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