Mirror mirror on the wall, this movie is lamest of them of all

Viviana Bravo, Entertainment - By Viviana Bravo on Thursday, April 5, 2012 - 03:33

For years there was only one Snow White, made famous by Walt Disney in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Now the entertainment industry is filled with fairy tales including her lovely story. So far Once Upon a Time on ABC has made audiences go back to the days of Brothers Grimm. But other versions are starting to be released, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. The latter has yet to be released, but the former has disappointed in becoming the fairest of them all.

Starring Julia Roberts, Lily Collins and Armie Hammer, this film has become a sad twist on the original. The Queen, played by Roberts, has ruled the kingdom since her husband disappeared when trying to kill a legendary beast. Snow White goes along with her stepmother’s outlandish ways until she learns about the town’s mistreatment.

The Queen finds out from her assistant Brighton, played by Nathan Lane, that she is broke. In order to solve this she decides to throw a masquerade ball in order to sweep the handsome and rich Prince Alcott off his feet. Everything becomes ruined when the prince falls for Snow White instead.

Roberts has always played great characters in great movies such as Pretty Woman and Eat Pray Love, but she made the wrong choice when signing up for this movie. She still performed to her usual standard, but somehow the other actors could not live up to her level of acting. Collins was first seen in The Blind Side and Abduction, but having a famous father, Phil Collins, can explain why she got the leading role. She was not horrifically bad, but not extremely good either. As for Armie Hammer, both of the twins from The Social Network, he did make the movie humorous, but the audience was probably staring at his attractive face rather than actually listening to the dialogue between him and the other characters.

Perhaps it was the directing that destroyed the vibrant colors seen throughout the movie. Tarsem Singh Dhandwar has three films under his belt besides Mirror Mirror, but only one has any recognition: Immortals. Compared to the other soon to be released Snow White director, Rupert Sanders, he has more experience. So what went wrong? Besides the acting, the film lacked backstory. At the beginning the only history the audience gets is Roberts’ explanation of how she became queen, but what about all the other characters? Luckily, there is an after story.

On a positive note, the film is appealing to the eye. There are bright colors everywhere and interesting costumes that make you look that way immediately. At the different events, Eiko Ishioka’s costume creations would probably not be seen in everyday fashion.

Mostly it resembled Victorian-age fashion, but with a twist of mismatching colors to prove to be an eye catcher. Scenery, too, was great with all of the flowers and cottage like furniture to go along with the characters’ personalities. What was not appealing to the eye was the musical number at the end of the film. This is not Slumdog Millionaire.

In other words, do not see this film. Wait for Snow White and the Huntsman, which looks far more captivating based on the trailer. And if money is a little tight at the moment, then watch Once Upon a Time. It is Snow White with the addition of more fictional characters that actually make for something engaging rather than cinematically stagnant.