I loved the new Shrek Forever After movie. But I was very sorry to see that the lovable big green ogre is not just living happily ever after over in Far Far Away. He is all over the mall selling everything from credit cards and breakfast cereal to junk food and greeting cards to kids and their families. It even includes “limited edition “Ogre Green” filled Twinkies.”
The press release from Dreamworks, explains that Shrek has a wide range of “partners.”
This is of course just another way to help make more money for the studio. But it is detrimental to the integrity of the product itself to commercialize it this way and it is particularly regrettable when it is attached to products that are unhealthy for children.
Nicholas Sparks writes the equivalent of comfort food, high-carb, low-nutrition, but sometimes it hits the spot. His stories usually feature relationships that are not just true and deep and loving but healing. And then, like ripping off a band-aid, he tears it asunder, but in a manner that demonstrates just how true and deep and loving and healing the relationship was but how ennobling as well. And there is usually some object of deep metaphoric and sentimental value.
Ladies, prepare your hankies.
This time, the author of “The Notebook,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “A Walk to Remember” and this spring’s “The Last Song” (starring Miley Cyrus) gives us John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried of “Mamma Mia!” and “Big Love”). She is a kind-hearted girl and he is a special forces soldier with some anger issues. They have some soft-focus moments on the beach in Charleston while he is on leave and she is on spring vacation. She is considerate to his socially impaired father (Richard Jenkins) and he is understanding with her autistic neighbor. Two weeks later, they are very much in love, and agree to write as he completes his last year of service, as they look forward to being together as soon as it is over. But 9/11 changes everything. As Richard Lovelace wrote almost 400 years ago, “I could not love thee, dear, so much/Loved I not honor more.” As wrenching as it is for both of them, they know his place is with his team, defending freedom.
But then, she writes a “Dear John” letter telling him that she is engaged. He is wounded, recovers, and returns to battle. When he finally sees her again, he learns that her choice was not what he thought.
Director Lasse Hallström (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “The Cider House Rules,” “My Life as a Dog”) keeps things from getting too syrupy and Tatum and Seyfried have a sweet, easy connection. Henry Thomas (the kid from “E.T”) has warmth and humor as the single father of the autistic boy. Richard Jenkins does what he can in the underwritten role of John’s father, whose reserve and awkwardness may be attributable to an autism spectrum disorder. We’re on the side of these undeniably decent and very pretty people. But there is nothing they can do to make the last third of the film feel emotionally or narratively believable. If at the end of the movie, you ask whether there was any other reason for a character not to provide more information much earlier and the only answer is that they had to find a way to fill the last 40 minutes of screen time, that is not going to work. And the sweetness of the original connection is dissolved in what feels like a trick.
Stay tuned this week as I have all sorts of surprises and giveaways including goodies for children and their parents! DVD prizes include a popular Lifetime series, a sizzling crime story, and a drama about three friends struggling to balance work, home, and their own dreams. Good luck and enjoy!
Opening this Week: ‘Prince of Persia’ and ‘SATC 2’
Posted on May 23, 2010 at 8:44 am
We are in the midst of summer blockbuster season, and with a three-day weekend coming up, we get two enormous releases this week, both involving the desert of the mid-East. “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is a sword and sandal epic based on a video game about a prince and princess who team up to prevent a sandstorm that could destroy the world. While game-based movies have in general been disappointing, this one has some intriguing possibilities. First is its star, Jake Gyllenhaal, a first-rate actor and movie star. Second is its director, Mike Newell, who has shown himself to be adept with grand, special-effects adventure, drama, and comedy (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Donnie Brasco,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”). And third is the producer who improbably turned an adventure park ride into one of the most successful film franchises of all time, Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “National Treasure”). All are proven audience-pleasers, so I am hoping for something special. Also this week: “Sex and the City 2,” which begins with a wedding. Carrie’s friend Stanford (Willie Garson) marries his boyfriend in a wedding so over-the-top it includes both swans and Liza Minnelli. The story then takes the characters on a trip to Abu Dhabi. While there are certain to be romantic complications, it looks like this film focuses on the heart of the series, the friendship between the four women. And I can promise the wardrobe will be amazing!
Ever watch a movie and think you could write a better one? Here’s your chance, without having to invest in pricey screenwriting software. Plotbot is a nifty web-based interface that walks you through the mechanics of screenwriting, handles all of the tricky formatting issues, and even allows you to collaborate privately or publicly. There are a lot of other great resources for writers online, including this discussion from Kurt Vonnegut about why we need drama (with charts!), Screenwriting Tips, and Scriptologist.
Give it a try, and if your film gets made, remember to thank me in your Oscar acceptance speech!
