You’re probably not doing anything tonight, right? Instead of spending another night gluing tiny pieces of macaroni onto posterboard or watching old Beta tapes of The Joy of Painting or reading music blogs or whatever it is y’all do, why not go see Stardust?
Now, The Princess Bride is pretty much my favorite movie (to the extent that someone not liking it verges on being a deal-breaker for me), so I’m not going to just willy-nilly compare some new film to The Princess Bride.
That said, Stardust is a lot like The Princess Bride.
Robert DeNiro as a gay sky-pirate (really), Ricky Gervais as a truly hilarious trader, Michelle Pfieffer as a witch, even a brief appearance from Peter O’Toole as the dying king, and this guy named Charlie Cox who I’d never heard of before but who managed to be everything that Orlando Bloom was supposed to be without any of the annoying (and who bore a weird resemblance to Roger Federer that I couldn’t quite shake). And Claire Danes, of course, looking as good as she has since that scene with the angel wings in Romeo and Juliet, blond hair notwithstanding.
Along with a great cast, there’s a nice dose of fairy-tale wonderment, just enough swashbuckling to keep you honest, and the classic message about the power and importance of True Love. It’s based on the story by Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite authors), though I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read it (a mistake I plan to remedy soon). Given that, it’s not really surprising that it manages to combine a bit of a tilt-a-whirl plot with some surprisingly complex characterization to create a fairy tale with its own very unique tone.
It might not be the absolute best movie I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly one of the most fun.
Speaking of which, here’s an appropriately titled piece of perfect pop from Swedish band Irene. It lasts all of 76 seconds and isn’t the most complex thing in the world, but it sure packs a big punch.
Stardust – Irene
Update: the single worst movie review I’ve read in many moons. How could someone get this movie so completely wrong? And not only that, it also manages to completely miss the point of The Princess Bride too, just for good measure. I was willing to tolerate a lot of problems but lost my head at this line: “The film’s tendency to make her head glow with astral light comes awfully close to a straightforward admission that Danes just isn’t that radiant or enticing without FX assistance.”
What’s next: complaints about Breakfast at Tiffany’s because Audrey Hepburn just isn’t very appealing? I mean, good lord.