the movieGOOMBA

About a year ago, Ashleigh, one of my two devoted readers, gave me the heads up on this movie after she saw the trailer. Ashleigh, my wonderfully "I take crap from no one," "melodramas are cheesy" best friend, the girl who answers something juvenile with her signature raised eyebrow, was excited about Enchanted, a movie about a Disney princess who is banished to reality and the Prince who would save her. It was my turn to give her the eyebrow lift.

Starring Junebug’s Amy Adams and Cyclopes (James Marsden), soon-to-be princess, Giselle, meets Prince Edward, they fall in love, and are to be married the very next day. However, in true Disney fashion, Prince Edward’s wicked step-mother banishes Giselle to New York City, the place without happily ever afters, and she’s left to wait and be saved by Prince Edward.

The film begins in animation and then transitions to motion picture at the point of Giselle’s banishment. As a kid, I hated movies that mixed cartoons with real-life motion picture. I thought the technique cheapened the movie and made it less real. To me, these movies had no magic, and I couldn’t possibly understand how a movie like Enchanted could ever be clever. Ash, I guess you saw something I didn’t.

This movie didn’t do just the normal, drop a princess in New York and show what happens kind of deal. It took it to the next level. She gets the animals to dress her in the morning. She can conjure her own beautiful dress out of nothing and still get a full night’s sleep. She’s always annoyingly happy and genuine. Oh, and the singing – the gloriously fun singing. Enchanted is hilarious, smart, and wholesome, but I think a lot of its success can be attributed to Amy Adams. Had they chosen a different actress to play Giselle, I don’t think this movie would have received such great reviews. James Marsden was too corny, just as you’d expect an actor to be in a movie like this, but Amy Adams is believable. She really is a princess; naive and sincere through and through. In those moments where cheese is almost certain, she fills it with cuteness and grace.

More things I want to point out:
-Patrick Dempsey also stars
-Is it just me, or does Patrick Dempsey's girlfriend scare you too?
-Ironically, although this is your typical fairy tale, it kind of isn't . . .

This movie was surprisingly hilarious. I’m buying it the minute it goes to DVD. I recommend this to anyone who isn't a masochist. You have to see it for yourself to believe how good it is.