What’s on now: Just finished Batman: Under the Red Hood. … Don’t judge me.
As I’ve said before, I don’t think it’s wrong for an adult to enjoy a “for kids” movie once in a while. Let’s just hope I don’t make a habit of it.
Gnomeo & Juliet was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I was going to like it for some reason. Looking back, I can’t pinpoint a specific thing about the trailer or a particular rumor that made me think that. But at any rate, it was nice that it was offered on Netflix streaming, or else I probably would have never seen it.
It’s usually a very good sign when a movie puts a smile on your face with the first line. In the case of Gnomeo & Juliet, a tiny, awkward little gnome comes out onto a stage, clears his throat, and says this, deadpan:
“The story you’re about to see has been told before… a lot.”
It’s funnier when you see it for yourself. When a movie or TV show somehow acknowledges its own quirks or makes fun of itself in some way, we’re in for a good time.
James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, Atonement) and Emily Blunt (Wild Target, The Devil Wears Prada) lend their voices to the two title characters. The cast was stocked with a few other big names as well, including Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter) and Jason Statham (Snatch.). Patrick Stewart (X-Men) even had a small cameo as the voice of William Shakespeare’s statue. Although, my personal favorite casting choice by far was Ozzy Osbourne as Fawn, a somewhat dim-witted reindeer lawn ornament.
The movie was fairly set on following the basic plot of Romeoand Juliet, so I was a little concerned about how they were going to address the whole mass murder/suicide subplot that Ol’ Bill seemed suspiciously fond of in his works. Funny thing is, they even mentioned that in the film. In one scene, Gnomeo is talking to Shakespeare’s statue, looking for advice, when the statue says in his version of the story, the lovers both die in the end. Gnomeo is amusingly horrified at the prospect and pretty much writes the statue off as decidedly nuts and walks away.
Basic plot is fairly easy to surmise for anyone who ever had to take a literature class. Two feuding families (in this case, lawn ornaments from two neighboring gardens) can’t stand each other. Odd, seeing as there’s a huge fence separating them. They are competitive, racing lawn mowers and trying to outdo each other with their landscape architecture. No dance-fighting, though, unfortunately.
Enter Gnomeo, from the blue garden, and Juliet, from the red garden. They meet, and naturally it’s love at first sight, even when they find out they’re supposed to hate each other. They continue meeting in secret, until the fateful day when the ceramic-on-ceramic carnage reaches an all-time high and they find themselves in the crossfire.
Elton John supplied the tunes, which I thought was kind of random. But it worked out fine. It lent a sort of light-heartedness to a story based on the most famed, depressing and heartbreakingly hopeless love story ever written. Let’s be real, Romeo and Juliet is the mother of all love stories, even though nobody lives happily ever after (spoiler alert). Gnomeo & Juliet was a cute, kid-friendly take on a timeless tale.
And best of all, I went this entire post without using the term “star-crossed lovers.”
I’m going on a little Thanksgiving vacation for the next week or so. But I’ll be back next week with something a little different!
Starring: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Patrick Stewart
Directed by: Kelly Asbury
Rated G
2011
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