comment #1

T. Holly says ...

Couldn't. Agree. More.

Excuse me Mgmax, how sexist can you say the movie is? Because I won't be seeing it for a while and I'd like to know, if possilbe.

comment #2

MichaelC says ...

Amy Adams demonstrated some impressive depth with a recurring role on The Office a while back. She hit some strong comedic and dramatic notes playing a bright character. I could easily see her doing the same thing in film if the right part came along.

comment #3

kit marlo says ...

"Dying is easy; comedy is hard."
- Donald Wolfit

comment #4

Rob says ...

Sorry, she proved her range with her role as the bitchy, slutty surf babe Marvel Ann in Charles Busch's hilarious Psycho Beach Party:

"They look like beatniks. Should I unpack my bongos?"

"I intend to unpack mine!"

comment #5

Balerion says ...

"I'm just saying..."

You know, I don't know what to make of the fact that this particular refrain (actresses are over the hill once they hit 40) is one that's positively common for you. No other movie reviewer I know of makes the point quite so often. By often, I'm not meaning you say it every other week, but I'm absolutely positive that I've heard you mention something to this effect multiple times since I started reading your articles at Mr. Showbiz. Maybe it averages out to once a year or something, but still, it seems to be a lot more than the other critics and commentators I've followed.

So ... am I mistaken? And if not, why _do_ you bring it up? The cynic in me says that there's a certain schadenfreude involved.

I also don't know what that point actually has to do with Adams' performance in the film, contrary to what the lede says.

I'm just saying...

comment #6

James Leer says ...

Adams began her career playing sluts and bitches -- "Psycho Beach Party," "Drop Dead Gorgeous." Hell, she even took over Sarah Michelle Gellar's role for the aborted "Cruel Intentions" TV show. She has range, but in Hollywood, they only remember what you did last.

comment #7

FarleyC says ...

Enough is enough Jeff. We know you find a way to tear down anything that is popular. You actually sounded like you liked it initially but... now you've made it your job to tear it to pieces because "the public" likes it. What a scrooge...

comment #8

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Balerion: Yeah, you've nailed me. Roles thinning out for actresses after they pass 40 is pretty much something I invented. Nothing to do with the way things are.

comment #9

Silverscreenvideos says ...

So, on the one hand, Adams has only a few good years and she should enjoy the gravy train while she can.

And on the other, she doesn't display any range when the first big ticket role she gets is, surprise, surprise, an extension of her best known independent role.

It would be nice if big studios waved millions at attractie young actresses to appear in a wide variety of challenging roles but it just doesn't happen.

comment #10

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Farley C.: Read the review -- I said portions of "Enchanted" work very nicely and that the basic idea is great, but the script is weak and hackneyed. And everything I said in the Adams piece is absolutely true. Adams looks 33 -- the age of a young soccer mom and not a fair young maiden. The closest real-life facsimiles to cartoon Giselle are girly-girl bimbos. And the "range" issue is there given that her two greatest successes, "Enchanted" and "Junebug," are markedly similar in terms of the characters she plays.

comment #11

jeffmcm says ...

Are these 'her two greatest successes' or 'the two films of hers that Wells has seen'?

comment #12

Balerion says ...

Jeff,

It's something I know to be true, and I knew it to be true the first time you mentioned it, and I'm pretty sure I still know it to be true the fifth, sixth, or seventh (or whatever that number may be) that you've mentioned it.

I'm just wondering why it's something you bring up more frequently than any other film commentator I've read. If my perception is wrong and you don't believe you bring it up more often than most anyone else in the field, fine -- my mistake, it's probably a sign that I've been reading your site more closely than I do those of other critics and commentators.

But if my perception is right that you do bring it up a bit more often than your colleagues, my question stands: why?

comment #13

snoop says ...

It seems a little unfair to hit Adams for having a perceived "lack of range." Most people play inside their comfort zones, while offering little nuances to distinguish characters. I haven't seen Enchanted, but Adams was really solid in Catch Me if You Can and if it wasn't for a flawless performance from Rachel Weisz, she could've walked away with the Oscar for Junebug.

Besides, even if she does prove to be one note, that doesn't seem to bother you so much with Halle Berry, whose Things We Lost in the Fire performance you praised even though it is a far less impressive retread of her Oscar winning work in Monsters Ball (her only two good roles outside of TV movies, except maybe - maybe - Bulworth).

But seriously, lets be real: if you can prove you've got the goods, it doesn't matter if your over 40. Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett will still be great actresses when they reach 40, and it won't mean a damn thing. Meryl Streep's done just fine for herself and she's almost 60. Ditto Julianne Moore who's 47.

I know that these women are titans, and that a lot of woman fall by the wayside, but then again, so do a lot of male actors (not as much, but still). Bottom line is the ones with the talent can stick it out. It remains to be seen if Adams is such an actress, but any guess at the future is nothing more than that -- a guess. Let's she what she does in the next few years.

Also worth noting: Diane Lane, Maria Bello, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, and Catherine Keener are all in their 40s, and even though they don't hit homeruns every time out, none of them are out of the game in any manner of speaking, and are always a viable option for a plum role.

comment #14

le corbeau says ...

Only you, Jeff, could look at Amy Adams and see "over the hill."

And for the second time, I think, you've taken one of the movie's points and seen it as a logical blunder. She thought she could walk into a painting because she WAS a painting. And she was an airheaded clotheshorse at first because Disney princesses ARE airheaded clotheshorses-- but then she grows out of it a little, without losing it completely. That's pretty much the point there, it'd be kind of like complaining that Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men is kind of old for a sheriff.

If Adams wants to really make her mark, she'll need to go wider and braver.

Fair enough, but maybe she needs to become a STAR first before she has the chance to get roles that broaden her range. I hardly think she missed her shot by going from a little indie to one of the holiday season's big hits.

T. Holly (and glad to see you have such firm opinions on what you haven't seen), the movie makes fun of the whole Disney princess thing, and part of the plot has to do with Gisele outgrowing it a little while Prince Edward is still a good-looking dunderhead, but at the same time it takes the point of view that a little fantasy in life, and a little being treated like a princess, never did a gal any harm, especially but not limited to six-year-olds.

comment #15

le corbeau says ...

but then again, so do a lot of male actors (not as much, but still)

Or they go to TV. Who's headlining major TV series these days? All those brat pack males of the 80s who didn't quite reach Tom Cruise status, like Kiefer Sutherland, James Spader, and not least-- Patrick Dempsey.

comment #16

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Mgmax: This is tedious. I didn't say she's over the hill -- I said she'll start to go up against it in six or seven years. God...reading comprehension skills? Does anyone remember Meg Ryan? Did she move to Tibet? Did she retire? Her big-star days are over, and it's not her idea. It HAPPENS. I didn't write the script. I personally love it when actresses and actors have a few years under their belt.

comment #17

snoop says ...

Women seem to be flocking to TV as well: Holly Hunter, Jeanne Tripplehorne, Kyra Sedgwick, Sally Field...

and it isn't working out too bad, for them or for TV viewers.

comment #18

T. Holly says ...

Mgmax, I don't need the company line. I need this: Ruthless Reviews. Where Nihilists Debate Pornographers About Pop Culture. Enchanted. http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews.cfm/id/1428/page/enchanted.html

comment #19

scooterzz says ...

with all due respect, wells, meg ryan has the lead in three film being released over the next year (one of which she produced)... that's hardly 'can't get arrested'.....

comment #20

jeffmcm says ...

But you still haven't seen the movie, right T. Holly? So by repeating that review you're just parroting a party line.

comment #21

snoop says ...

But Meg Ryan is just a perfect example of someone who actually showed very little substance in most of her films. I would venture to say that it wasn't age that killed her career as much as it was her decision to do shitty romantic comedies instead of parlaying her good will into more worthwhile risky projects.

Meanwhile, you've got over 40 actresses waging comebacks each year---this year's example: Michelle Pfieffer.

comment #22

gruver1 says ...

Wells to snoop: Hooray for Pfeiffer...I'll keep watching her as long as she continues to act.

comment #23

T. Holly says ...

mcm, I read about lots of movies I don't see because I believe criticism IS an art form. I'm proud to say, I've allowed the entire movie to be "spoiled" for me, which has no bearing on my getting around to seeing it, promptly forgetting what I know and processing the movie for myself, wiser. When you have to dig for an alt perspective, it's not a party line, it's a breath of fresh air.

comment #24

scooterzz says ...

snoop -- again, you can't say her career is killed when she's got three movies in the can and is still working.....that said, you're certainly right that she made some shitty movies....

comment #25

jeffmcm says ...

T. Holly, sure, but if you haven't actually seen the movie you don't know if they're right or not. It sounds like - speculating here - you found a review that panders to your preconceived notion.

comment #26

alan says ...

None of those three points is about her performance. Point one is about nature and Hollywood trends. Point two is about the screenplay. Point three is about the casting department.

comment #27

T. Holly says ...

Good golly mcm, right or not isn't the thing, it's what's written and how it's written. I go back and read negative reviews of things I liked too, for instance. Hey, Jolie doesn't look as young, vuluptuous or perfect as Beowulf's mum either. Anyone know if Meg Ryan is ready for her close up?

comment #28

BurmaShave says ...

Only a person who doesn't really pay attention would say her roles in the two films are the same. I'm not accusing her of that, but it's an easy dig, and it's wrong. Maybe you need to watch JUNEBUG again, which isn't a bad idea no matter what.

comment #29

Zimmergirl says ...

"T. Holly (and glad to see you have such firm opinions on what you haven't seen), the movie makes fun of the whole Disney princess thing, and part of the plot has to do with Gisele outgrowing it a little while Prince Edward is still a good-looking dunderhead, but at the same time it takes the point of view that a little fantasy in life, and a little being treated like a princess, never did a gal any harm, especially but not limited to six-year-olds."

You know, this is ultimately what bothers me about Enchanted (and I liked Amy Adams in it, a lot) is that it's still the same old fairy tale -it's still girls thinking they're get rescued by a man and will live happily ever after - it is a putrid myth and one that ought to be dragged out to the barn and burned. If this was a true redux and not a chicken shit one it would be more about Giselle realizing more than "glom onto this guy and your life will be fulfilled." They didn't really mess with the convention - they just repackaged it.

And for the record, as a mom of a little girl the last thing little girls need is another princess to sell on Halloween and Christmas - to be on lunch boxes and toothbrushes and pajamas. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, as The Who would say.

comment #30

PerfectTommy says ...

Don't think people are giving Wells a fair shake with his first point here. His chief complaint here is that Amy is too old for the character, not that she is too old for the screen. The issue was consistency between the cartoon and the live action.

comment #31

le corbeau says ...

My reading comprehension skills are fine, Hef, I mean Jeff. You're looking for every side door you can find to come in and take a potshot at a deserved popular hit. I mean, okay, so she only has seven years. You mean like the seven years of Katharine Hepburn from Morning Glory to The Philadelphia Story? The seven years of Meryl Streep from The Deer Hunter to Out of Africa? Maybe she'll do something great and show fantastic range, maybe like Julie Andrews a 40-year-career will basically boil down to a couple of early roles and a long half-stardom, but right now, like Eve Harrington in the new play by Lloyd Richards, she's the toast of the town and deserves to be.

And I love that liking a popular movie is "repeating the party line." As opposed to fashionably knocking it, which is completely original.

As for Zimmergirl... I'm sorry it struck you that way. I'm sure there are people who left Miracle on 34th Street still steamed about that Santa Claus bag of lies, too.

comment #32

le corbeau says ...

His chief complaint here is that Amy is too old for the character, not that she is too old for the screen. The issue was consistency between the cartoon and the live action.

A year ago it would have starred Lindsay Lohan, and everything would have been fine.

comment #33

Rod32303 says ...

I dig Adams a lot, and I hope she has a long and full career. I just saw "Enchanted" and she's, well, enchanting.

But Jeff is right - the characters in "Enchanted," "Junebug," and, less we forget, "Catch Me If You Can" (she was Leonardo DiCaprio's dental assistant/almost bride with the braces, remember?) all run in the same vein. No doubt she has range and will be able to prove it. It just seems like Jeff is offering a cautionary tale/observation. He's done this for/to actors and actresses since I've read him (also back with "Mr. Showbiz"). Adams will either prove him wrong or not. Everybody breathe.

comment #34

dubackcar says ...

Balerion,

You are not wrong. Quoting from an entry several months ago - remembered this because it seemed so vicious.

"Kidman will be hitting 40 in November, and there are few things more pathetic than a woman past her hot-bod prime who hasn't sold her skills sufficiently in the job market (i.e., isn't making enough money to "live well") and has decided to try and snag a multimillionaire husband as a last-ditch attempt to live a flush life. The odds against such a quest are astronomical...."

comment #35

buckzollo says ...

Am the only guy willing to give props where props is due? Hello? I mean forget Amy Adams, who is a d o r a b l e, how 'bout a shout out for Chirstopher Hitchens in his feature film and animated feature debut?

comment #36

le corbeau says ...

Now that's funny.

comment #37

jeffmcm says ...

T. Holly, I didn't see you praising the prose, it looked more like you were trumpeting the substance of the opinion. If Enchanted really is traditionally chauvinistic, then by all means shout it to the heavens. But I'll trust my own eyes first.

Mgmax: you're right, of course.

comment #38

le corbeau says ...

Basically Enchanted is recapitulating Disney's history in the Katzenberg era. The Little Mermaid was a huge hit but it took a lot of flak for the fact that its heroine was a half-naked bimbo who just wanted a man. So then they made a serious, if somewhat mechanical, effort to create heroines who had some more backbone and brains-- Belle in Beauty and the Beast (whose reward for not being taken in by surface appearances and wealth was... a rich handsome prince!), Pocahontas, Mulan, and so on. However, along the way they came to an inescapable conclusion-- little girls, even those with career gal moms, or maybe especially those... LOVE princesses. There's just no getting around that one. It'd be like discouraging boys from seeing Cars, or trying to beat safe driving into their head while they play with Hot Wheels.

So Enchanted makes the best of it (in, admittedly, a corporately self-serving way). It's about a princess, but she grows up and wants more than a prince, and becomes a career gal in the end selling princess dreams to little girls. It's about a little girl who needs fantasy like all children do, who doesn't need to be rational that early like her disillusioned single parent. (Am I the only one who noticed that all that is straight out of Miracle on 34th Street?) And, admittedly a not very developed character, there's a career woman who needs a little romance in her life too. I don't think that's a "putrid myth," I think it's an inevitable part of childhood and even adulthood, the desire for a little romance and fantasy, which is less destructive in moderation than its complete absence is.

comment #39

Webster says ...

Let's not lose sight of the fact that more people saw Amy Adams in one day of Enchanted's initial release than during the whole theatrical run of Junebug (which I loved loved loved). And thank God for actresses who depart from the Hollywood norm--it doesn't seem to have hurt the differently (but uncomfortable-out-of-her-range) "limited" Hilary Swank.

comment #40

danmo says ...

Another mysgonist Wells tirade - does anyone else think the reason Jeff has such a stick up his ass regarding Adams is b/c of the affection that Poland shows for her on his blog? I don't see any recorded chat with Adams on elsewhere - lord knows Jeff would have kept his trap shut if he could have had a sit down and put up some pictures of her from his digital cam.

Amy Adams is real talent; genuinely funny, charming, and able to shine dramatically (scenes in Junebug are heartbreaking). Sure, most of it is luck, but with the right choices she can do what she wants for decades to come.

comment #41

George Prager says ...

I can just picture William Hurt telling Raul Julia the whole story over a meal of roasted pheasant, chamomile tea, and cigarettes.

comment #42

christian says ...

Jeff rails against the system then perpuates it.

comment #43

bmcintire says ...

mgmax - And what a difference that year made. Adams looks a good decade younger than Lohan at this point. I shudder to think what her over-the-hill age will actually be. Twenty-five?

comment #44

tfresca says ...

Wells is being irresponsible and dangerous. I needed him to tell me that Amy Adams has a face unaltered by surgery. I'm cool with that. These actressses who look like Skeletor hurt movies far worse than Amy playing young. It's much harder for me to buy these old actors, Michael Douglass, etc., as letharios than Amy Adams being cute.