A SIMPLE WISH
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 7/11/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:30 MPAA Classification: PG (Scary moments) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Mara Wilson, Martin Short, Kathleen Turner, Francis Capra, Robert Pastorelli, Amanda Plummer, Teri Garr, Ruby Dee Director: Michael Ritchie Producers: Sid, Bill, and Jon Sheinberg Screenplay: Jeff Rothberg Cinematography: Ralf Bode Music: Bruce Broughton U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
A SIMPLE WISH falls into the category occupied by dozens of other recent family features that share a few traits -- they're innocuous, mediocre, and thoroughly forgettable. The movie, directed by Michael Ritchie (THE BAD NEWS BEARS, FLETCH) from a script by Jeff Rothberg, isn't bad per se, but it's the kind of production where nothing sticks in the mind once you've exited the theater. Inept films linger like a bad taste and good movies bathe the viewer in a pleasant afterglow, but A SIMPLE WISH's feeble impression vanishes the moment that there's something marginally interesting to captivate the attention (like looking both ways before crossing the street).
The best thing about A SIMPLE WISH is young actress Mara Wilson, who despite being noticeably older here than in her previous two outings, A MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET and MATILDA, still retains her feckless charm and unforced acting style. The worst thing about the movie is Martin Short. Under ideal circumstances, Short can be grating, but here, attempting to mimic Jim Carrey, he's occasionally unbearable. The scenes where he's not around tend to be A SIMPLE WISH's most entertaining.
The plot flows along the lines of a modern-day, fractured fable. Seven-year old Anabel Greening (Wilson) is facing a dire prospect: unless her widowed father (Robert Pastorelli), a Central Park hansom cab driver, gets a part in the Broadway musical, TWO CITIES, he has decided to pack up Anabel and her older brother, Charlie (Francis Capra), and move to Nebraska. To prevent this unthinkable event from occurring, Anabel requests the aid of a fairy godmother. What she gets is the incompetent Murray (Short), the only guy who's working on a fairy godmothers' holiday, and, instead of granting Anabel's simple wish, he exacerbates matters. To further complicate the situation, the evil witch Claudia (Kathleen Turner) is out to take control of the North American Fairy Godmothers' Association, and Murray has the magic wand she craves the most.
At least A SIMPLE WISH never takes itself seriously. It knows that it's a silly film, and everyone plays along, keeping the tone somewhere between relaxed and campy. Kathleen Turner and Amanda Plummer have fun chewing on the scenery, although their antics are mercifully restrained compared to Short's. Francis Capra manages to be a little less obnoxious here than he was in KAZAAM, and Robert Pastorelli (MICHAEL) brings an appealing mixture of dignity and likeability to his role. Teri Garr and Ruby Dee have small parts as traditional fairy godmothers.
There are times when the film's self-deprecating humor is amusing. Turner has some of the best lines, describing the job of a fairy godmother as "listening to [little girls'] insipid wishes" and calling Cinderella a "masochistic idiot." The script refers to and/or pokes fun at such targets as bedtime stories, Broadway musicals in general and Andrew Lloyd Webber in particular, Shakespeare, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and, incredibly, CITIZEN KANE (watch the snow globe). It would all be a lot more enjoyable if Martin Short didn't keep interrupting.
It's easy to tell that A SIMPLE WISH doesn't have the limitless budget of Universal's other recent summer release, THE LOST WORLD. Spielberg's summer blockbuster was defined by state-of-the-art special effects. A SIMPLE WISH is hampered by some rather cheap-looking visuals. The film's attempts at magic are awkward to watch. For example, there's a group of digitally-designed frogs that allow the viewer to appreciate just how impressive the Budweiser TV commercial creations are.
I assume the target group for A SIMPLE WISH is basically the same one as for last year's MATILDA. A number of similar elements are in place: a plucky heroine played by Mara Wilson, magic, echoes of Dickens, a cartoon-like villain, and a happy ending. Of course, since A SIMPLE WISH isn't as skillfully constructed and is saddled with Martin Short, the best advice I can offer is to rent MATILDA now and wait for A SIMPLE WISH to hit video shelves in the near future. It won't take too long -- this film doesn't have the strength or stamina to stand up against the other mid-July competition.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
--=====================_868956992==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
--=====================_868956992==_--
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews