Critique the Critic

"Enchanted"


Manohla Dargis’s review for the New York Times of “Enchanted” was one of the few reviews where the writer had many positive remarks of the movie, but also had its areas to critique.

The night I saw this movie, I wasn’t necessarily in a good mood but when I walked out of the theater, my spirit was completely uplifted. Once Giselle and Prince Edward began singing their duet (during which they immediately fell in love, of course) I was already chuckling, excited to see where the story would lead. Throughout the movie, I felt as though Amy Adams did a marvelous job as her role of a fairy-tale princess in the real world. Her gestures, facial expressions, and emotions helped me to believe she wasn’t any ordinary woman in New York City. I had only previously seen Patrick Dempsey in Grey’s Anatomy, so I was excited to see him playing the role of a real-life Prince Charming. Although I believe the film was cast very well, I was surprised that Idina Menzel did not sing at all. Although she had a supporting female role, I was expecting Marsden and her to sing a song as they traveled back to their fairy-tale land. The movie was incredibly cliché, although since that’s how it was supposed to be, it was humorous at the same time. In my opinion, it definitely was worth seeing twice (which I did), if only just to get a good laugh.

Manohla Dargis mirrored my opinion almost exactly. However, she thought that after the fantastically choreographed musical number in the park, the movie slumped slightly and ended with a few rough lines in the script.
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Dargis summarizes: "It’s a gently heretical redo, characterized by a script that falters only in the clinch, some agile if overly timid direction and a strong cast led by a superb Amy Adams."

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Dargis wrote an insightful review that did not reveal too much information to the audience. She warned them of its “Disney Fairy-tale Cliché-ness”, but explained that it had to end in the way it did to make it a true Disney movie.
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Dargis states: "It would be too much to expect Disney to wholly dismantle its own mythologies, thereby freeing young female hearts and minds from the curse of Prince Charming, so it’s no surprise that “Enchanted” trips up on its way to the finish."

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One statement I did not agree with was that “The windup disappoints” because even though I saw “Enchanted” twice, I didn’t think the ending could have been any better. The only negative comment I could make was that it was rather lengthy. However, in all honesty, for Disney to wrap up their film with its typical ending, all of the dramatic steps it took were needed.
I think the film did a wonderful job of not only making Enchanted seem like a “typical fairy-tale movie” but also dropping in details and events from its other hits-such as Snow White, The Sound of Music, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast.