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{"id":1654,"date":"2012-03-30T12:30:50","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T18:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/?p=1654"},"modified":"2012-03-30T12:32:42","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T18:32:42","slug":"review-winning-humor-pleases-in-gentle-mirror-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/2012\/03\/review-winning-humor-pleases-in-gentle-mirror-mirror\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Winning Humor Pleases in Gentle ‘Mirror Mirror’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a>If you\u2019re looking for something new and startling in the Snow White movie \u201cMirror Mirror,\u201d something along the lines of Hunger Games\u2019 fighter Katniss in a hoop skirt, you\u2019ll have to wait for the next fairy tale movie. \u201cSnow White and the Huntsman,\u201d for example, comes out June 1.<\/p>\n

If, however, you\u2019re looking for a lush and beautiful children\u2019s rendition of the classic story that updates the characters while still staying true to the heart of the tale, \u201cMirror Mirror\u201d is your gig.<\/p>\n

Snow White may be modernized but she\u2019s still all about luscious gowns and true love.<\/p>\n

Lily Collins plays the title character, a teen kept isolated from the world by her selfish stepmother the Queen (Julia Roberts). Self-indulgent to a disastrous degree, the Queen has run the kingdom into poverty. She seems to think the poor towns people exist for no other reason than to fund her lavish parties. As Snow White approaches 18, like any good modern damsel, she develops a social conscience and begins to fret about the fate of the unfortunate citizens of her father\u2019s once happy realm. There\u2019s a nice small government message here, brief but sure.<\/p>\n

When a clueless but big-hearted Prince (Armie Hammer) comes into the neighborhood, he is beset by bandits and forced to appear at court in his skivvies. Partly for his taut abs and partly for his very attractive pots of gold, the Queen determines to marry him. The problem, he\u2019s already set eyes on the lovely, if heavily eyebrowed, Snow White.<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t do. Snow White must die. She escapes, of course, or this would be a short movie. The very bandits that abused the poor prince are revealed to be a brotherhood of dwarfs, united in their rejection by society and, eventually, in their adoration of Snow White.<\/p>\n

These aren\u2019t your grandmother\u2019s dwarfs, though. Played by real little people, they have distinct personalities that can\u2019t be summed up in a rhyming, diminutive word: The big-talking cowboy who can dish out a world of hurt, the Don Juan who has a soft heart under his bravado, the wild wolf-man who wears fur and howls as he fights.<\/p>\n

Forced out of town by the Queen as \u201cundesirables,\u201d the pint-sized everymen just want to be part of the community again. Snow takes them seriously, which helps the audience to do so as well.<\/p>\n

Julia Roberts plays the stepmother as relentlessly selfish, with a Scarlett O\u2019Hara fiddle-lee-dee attitude. Desperate to remain young, she submits herself to bird poop facials, scorpion bites to trim fat, and bee stings to puff her lips. Honestly, it doesn\u2019t seem all that different than some of the high-priced spa treatments one hears about. Nathan Lane as her cockroach-esque minion does a fine job.<\/p>\n

Lily Collins pulls off Snow White, although she is annoyingly innocent and cloying to begin. As required by the Fairy Tale Synod of 1983, a princess no longer needs a prince to rescue her, being perfectly capable of sword fighting on her own. In fact, she is contractually obligated to rescue him in some way. Haven\u2019t any of these gender wars people heard of team work? Of two being stronger than one?<\/p>\n

But I digress. Snow is dutifully shown to be a modern girl able to battle while looking good in a corset.<\/p>\n

Corset? Yes. The best things about the film are the lavish costumes and beautiful sets. It feels very fairy land, with dresses that wouldn\u2019t fit through a real-world doorway and castles found only in dreams. Colors are sharp, snow extra white, and no one seems to feel cold, even in his skivvies.<\/p>\n

The second best thing is the subtle humor that permeates the film. The queen\u2019s beauty treatments, magic potion, even true love is delivered with a wink and a nod even as its embraced. The humor is fine for kids. Aside from the Queen\u2019s ogling of Prince Charming\u2019s shirtless torso, there\u2019s no inappropriate content or coarse humor. The film is rated PG. Even the final fight at the end won\u2019t scare many children.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t change their lives either, but \u201cMirror Mirror\u201d does offer a well-made, visually gorgeous way to pass an afternoon with your little girls. And that\u2019s what fairy land is all about.<\/p>\n

Read our interview with star Lily Collins,<\/a> on Julia and little girls who love Snow White<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"