Enchanted

When I first saw the previews for “Enchanted,” I wasn’t impressed, mainly because the clips seemed to emphasize slapstick humor. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the clever script and Amy Adams’ acting. The screenplay for “Enchanted,” written by Billy Kelly, counts on audience familiarity with Disney staples like “Snow White,” “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty” and then pokes gentle fun. The movie opens in the animated world of Andalasia, where Giselle (Amy Adams), a heroine in the best Disney tradition, waits for her prince. When Prince Edward (James Marsden) finds her, he falls instantly in love and wants to marry her, which upsets his stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), who fears losing her power. She devises a spell to send Giselle to a land ‘where there are no happy endings’ – New York. Once in Times Square, the animation is gone, but Giselle retains her cartoonish characteristics of being constantly cheerful and optimistic. She is rescued by Robert, a cynical divorce lawyer and his young daughter Morgan. Robert doesn’t believe Giselle’s story, but he can’t leave her stranded. But who is Giselle’s real prince – Edward or Robert? Giselle handles situations in the real world the way she would in Andalasia. When she needs help cleaning Robert’s apartment, she sings out a call to her animal friends and birds, rats, and cockroaches come running to do her bidding. She breaks into song in the middle of Central Park and everyone around her sings, too. On a darker note, Giselle doesn’t realize that Narissa’s evil henchman is out to get her to eat a poisoned apple – in the form of an appletini, of course.

Amy Adams is “Enchanted”’s biggest asset. She plays Giselle with straightforward sincerity without any condescension and her development into a multi-dimensional character is a pleasure to watch. Patrick Dempsey provides the obvious foil to James Marsden’s prince who may be good looking, but is not overly bright. And Susan Sarandon takes pleasure in chewing up every scene she’s in. “Enchanted” is definitely a family film; it is enjoyable for adults as well as children. (11/23/07)