Enchanted

After seeing the previews for Enchanted, I went with low expectations. I assumed I would see the same fairy tale clichés common to princess/prince movies: princess/prince falls into peril, princess/prince saved by prince/princess who overcomes insurmountable odds, prince and princess fall in love…. Oh yeah, and along the way princess/prince learns important life lessons about who she/he is and that she/he needs to follow her/his dreams to find true happiness and love. All these clichés were there in one way or another but they were presented in such a fresh way that also cleverly poked fun at them that the movie ended up being a real delight. I found myself laughing out loud numerous times. Patrick Dempsey as the disillusioned family law attorney was terrific. James Marsden as the prince played each cliché to annoying and hilarious perfection. However it is Amy Adams as the princess Giselle who completely steals the show. Her portrayal of the princess lost in New York City was a charmer. I hope we get to see her in many other movies. With her new success in the family market, I hope she doesn’t seek out more supposedly “serious” roles that will allow her to display her “true capacity” as an artist (i.e. the rated R market with all that entails -- though she may have already played such roles for all I know). Jane read in the LA Times that Adams grew up in a Mormon family in Colorado but that the family left the church when her parents divorced and that the church has not had much bearing on her faith. We took the whole family to the show and I felt it was appropriate for them all. I don’t remember any swearing. There was one exchange where Dempsey’s girlfriend complains about his “rules” in not letting her spend the night at his apartment (which was actually a good thing but may raise questions for kids). At one point, Giselle accidentally falls on top of the Dempsey character in her towel after getting out of the shower. There were some cartoon-type action sequences and a dragon that might be scary to young children. I would have been happier with a bit more modesty in the dresses worn by Adams which were similar to what you would see in a Pride and Prejudice type period piece. 4 Beavers.