November 25, 2007
I was Enchanted by the Movie
Enchanted (2007) - Rachel Covey, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Amy Adams
My husband and I went to see Enchanted this weekend without the kids. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it ended up being a very cute, funny movie!
I initially suggested Stephen King’s The Mist, but my husband said The Mist looked too depressing, and he was already depressed because the The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team lost to Texas A&M’s Aggies this weekend, so he didn’t want to see it. He then suggested we see American Gangster with Denzel Washington. I said well if The Mist is depressing then how is people killing each other (on the streets of New York back in the day) not depressing? He said that he didn’t think that kind of action was depressing. After some annoying discussion, we settled on Enchanted. I think he would tell you he liked it too even though it might be considered by some a teenage girl, chick flick.
Enchanted is an attempt by Disney to bring a little bit of realism into its fairy tale stories. I think many people now feel (and know from experience) that things don’t always work out like they do in fairy tales. The princesses don’t always find their prince (or vice versa), princesses can rescue themselves in many cases, princes need rescuing too, princesses and princes come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. My high-level observations:
- Although Princess Giselle quite obviously had a life full of privilege and wanted for nothing except a handsome prince in a place where ‘happily ever after’ was the norm, when faced with adversity she adapted. When rats, pigeons, and cockroaches heeded her call for help in New York she flinched a bit and then said ‘oh well, I’ll take what I can get’ and went on singing. She was also able to make fabulous dresses out of curtains and blankets at a moments notice (quite a trick because there was never a sewing machine in sight!).
- Patrick Dempsey who plays Robert, a divorce attorney, seems to play characters who are as close to a real-life Prince Charming that you can get in this day and age! Kind, caring, good-looking, smart, rich, etc. He also plays Dr. McDreamy (a.k.a. Dr. Derek Shepherd) in Grey’s Anatomy where he is pretty much Dr. Meredith Grey’s prince charming but she doesn’t know how to accept him in that role.
- Prince Edward was portrayed as a slightly slow, kind hearted guy. I found this curious because Princess Giselle was smart and he was as they say ‘a little behind the eight ball.’ Maybe they did this to illustrate that a true princess not only wants good looks but smarts too. Interestingly, he left back to fairy tale land with Nancy, Robert’s girlfriend (who they didn’t give us any reason to believe wasn’t smart) when both of them lost their loves to each of their loves. A bit confusing but this part of the plot lent itself to the ‘happily every after’ goal of the movie.
Despite all the twists and turns, everyone still lived ‘happily ever after!’ Until of course Enchanted II comes out. 
Overall it was a fun movie that had me smiling throughout mostly because of the impossibility of it all!
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November 25th, 2007 at 4:59 pm, Lovebabz Says:
Happy Holidays! I found you on Blogher. I plan to see this movie, it looks cute and funny and light which is what I need and want right now. Thanks for the review. You may want to check Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I get Married”, it is a grown-up movie and it is bit over the top on some themes but over all it was very good. I will definitely stop back by.
Love,
Babz
November 25th, 2007 at 6:33 pm, Aruni Says:
Thanks for stopping by Lovebabz! We did actually see “Why Did I get Married” a few weeks ago and we both really enjoyed it. I laughed knowingly many, many times! I thought it was very much to the point. I liked their interpretation of the 80/20 rule.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:57 am, Erin Defosse Says:
Aruni is correct….I *will* say that I enjoyed the movie (quite a bit actually) even though it is toa chick flick. That said, I’m not one that will shy away from chick flicks begin with so factor that in as you decide to go see it or not.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:37 pm, Neena (NeenMachine) Says:
I have heard good things about this movie and the kids all want to see it, even the boys! Hopefully, we will be able to squeeze it in this weekend.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:27 pm, Aruni Says:
Hi Neena - It is very enjoyable. I’m not sure how old your kids are but I’m sure they’ll each find themselves smiling at different points throughout the movie!
November 29th, 2007 at 1:55 pm, DJ Nelson Says:
Yes The Mist is depressing and I wish my husband wouldn’t have suggested it. To be fair I will say it depends on what kind of movies you like. I like happy, family friendly movies.
November 29th, 2007 at 8:18 pm, Aruni Says:
Welcome DJ Nelson. Then I’m glad we didn’t go see The Mist!
Your site, all diva media, looks pretty interesting.
Thanks for stopping by!