Enchanted (2007)

September 14, 2008 at 12:46 pm - by Dale Dietrich

(4/5)

Reference: |
Reviews: Roger Ebert | IMDb External Reviews | Rotten Tomatoes 93% | Metacritic 75%

Enchanted (2007) is a terrific movie that lives up to its name. Few musicals since the Sound of Music (1965) and West Side Story (1961) have been as satisfying and enjoyable as Enchanted. It had me pleasantly smiling from beginning to end.

Amy Adams plays Giselle, a princess, that literally falls out of a fairytale into Manhattan’s Time’s Square. My first discovery of Adams was her Oscar nominated performance in Junebug (2005) where she, but not the movie, was wonderful. In Enchanted she plays the same kind of unwaveringly, wide-eyed optimist character that she played in Junebug. She convincingly plays a fairytale princess, capable of motivating hard-edged New Yorkers into spontaneous song and dance. Somehow she pulled it off in an entertaining fashion. So much so that I rewound and watched that scene several times. Her That’s How You Know song got me humming along.

McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey, plays a New York divorce attorney, and single dad, who stumbles upon the frightened Princess Giselle. His adorable daughter Morgan, played by Rachel Covey, convinces him to give the Princess a place to sleep. Rachel Covey perfectly portrayed an eight year old eager to believe that Giselle really is a fairy tale princess.

One of my favourite actresses, Susan Sarandon, has a fun cameo playing the wicked step mom (Queen Narissa) of Giselle’s would-be Prince Charming (forgetably played by James Marsden).

Towards the end the movie started to fail a bit. A dramatic twist seemed to take the real-world/fairytale overlap idea a tad too far. Nonetheless the ending was generally appropriate and satisfying for a story that requires the viewer to suspend increasing amounts of disbelief.

Enchanted is destined to become a classic. I heartily recommend it to all but the most jaded of movie goers. It’s a beautiful movie that will be fun for the whole family. (click images for larger view)