A SIMPLE WISH
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
This year New York City is hosting the annual NAFGA (North American Fairy Godmothers Association) convention, and, of course, every self-respecting fairy godmother wants to be there, including the lone male fairy godmother Murray (Martin Short) and one gone over to the dark side, a witch named Claudia (Kathleen Turner). For companionship, Claudia brings along her recently humanized dog Boots (Amanda Plummer).
It must have sounded promising to Mara Wilson's parents when her agent pitched her proposed part in A SIMPLE WISH. After Mara's success in a featured role in MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET followed by a starring role in MATILDA, she would get to work with two big name stars, Kathleen Turner and Martin Short, in a film with a promising plot.
Perhaps her parents should have studied the script by Jeff Rothberg (THE AMAZING PANDA ADVENTURE) to see if it contained more than some cute magic tricks - it doesn't.
Probably more apropos would have been for them to view director Michael Ritchie's collection of films including such forgettable ones as his last three, THE FANTASTICKS, COPS AND ROBBERSONS and THE SCOUT. Ritchie spends all of his creative energy in A SIMPLE WISH in clever staging of the wishes, and allocates no time for directing the acting. If Turner and Short have insulted their viewing public with more pathetic acting in other movies, the names of the films do not come to mind.
A SIMPLE WISH has one of the most inauspicious beginnings on record. Murray, looking extra weird with his large front teeth caps, is taking his fairy godmother qualifying exam. For five long and tedious minutes, Short demonstrates how to overact while doing slapstick.
We then switch to the Greening family. Single dad, aren't they all in the movies today, Oliver (Robert Pastorelli) drives a horse-drawn carriage around Central Park, but he wants to be a Broadway singer in the musical TWO CITIES. His son Charlie (Francis Capra) is the typical obnoxious movie teenager. His daughter Anabel, played sweetly by the gifted actress Mara Wilson, has a brand new and highly incompetent fairy godmother, Murray, to help her.
"One wish per customer and no wishes for more wishes," explains Murray. "They plugged that loophole up years ago. In past years there were abuses."
There are about a half dozen wishes in the show and Murray screws up most of the them. My favorite is when Murray transports Anabel and himself to the fleabag Plaza Motel in Nebraska instead of the luxurious Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. When the tobacco chewing redneck who owns the place draws a bead on them with a shotgun, Murray tries to turns him into a little rabbit. Ops, big mistake. An angry giant rabbi starts attacking them.
Prophetically, Anabel says at one point, "This stinks." To which Murray concurs, "I know, it's bad." And how.
A SIMPLE WISH runs 1:30. It is rated PG for perhaps a few bad words that I missed. The show would be acceptable for all ages. My son Jeffrey, age 8, thought the show was "excellent," and his buddy Matthew, age 8, said that the film "goes up there among my favorites." I found most of the film pathetic so I give it thumbs down. For the imaginative wishes and for poor Mara Wilson's nice performance in a terrible picture, I give it * 1/2.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: July 9, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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