Wow, the effects of a hot bath. All the tension was drained away with the bath water. I had a very eventful weekend already and was relishing the prospect of having tonight alone with my bed, laptop, and a good movie.
The worker at Blockbuster Video was just too into his job -- the kind of guy who has to announce his every move, so everybody behind me in line knows my business. "Hello, and you are taking these two videos today? Ms. Luh? It would appear that there is late balance on your account. Let's just take a look at it. I'm pulling it up right now. Yes, now I'm going to restore the account. It's a late charge. It's going to be $7.50. You're going to use the card, OK, is that ATM or credit? ATM? Just press that green button for the amount. Now you can put your pin number in. And if you could just sign this for me. OK, it looks like you're taking 'Cinderella II' and 'Heartbreakers.' 'Cinderella II' is due Monday at noon and 'Heartbreakers' is due on Thursday. I hope you enjoy watching 'Cinderella II' and 'Heartbreakers.' See you soon."
So, just my luck, to have 10 or 11 people in line behind me at the busiest hour, about 60% of which were typical beachy San Diego guys, hear my movie selections on the one night I chose to be absolutely girly. And, well, a bit idiotic.
I'm really fond of Cinderella. She's elegant, simple, kind, and patient. This sequel seems to model her on Princess Diana, the People's Princess, because Cinderella is eager to introduce local customs into the daily routine of castle life. In the beginning there's a little to-do about how a common maid can possibly maintain the responsibilities of a princess. Of course, no problem, she's actually more wise than even the most lettered and civilized high court official. No country bumpkin here, she's the ghetto rat with city smarts and who-are-you-to-judge-her. Plus, she's in love. She's in a very fulfilling relationship with a stand-up guy who also happens to be the prince.
The downside is that she has these dumbass mice sidekicks who speak with totally impaired English. They're overly gesticulative with their wiry mice arms and in their overeagerness to help Cinderelly assimilate, they end up fouling up the most important state functions. In a desperate move for a plot twist, one of the mice gets turned into a human by the fairy godmother. More snafus abound. I know that no Disney movie would be complete without a talking animal, but really, hasn't the marketing team figured out that they were never the box office draws? Another gripe I have is with Cinderella's up-do, that strange coif where she looks like she has this tiny ass on her head. It's that bun with the weird crack in it. Other than that, though, the fashions are colorful hoop skirts with nice ribbon work, and other styles suggest that the movie is set in 19th-century low country -- maybe Belgium or the Netherlands.
The movie also addresses the reality that the stepsisters are not really bitches but misunderstood, and have long suffered under the adverse domination of the stepmother. She's taught them a host of shallow and misleading values, and the root of most of their malice is from insecurity and lack of self-esteem. Anastasia secretly covets Cinderella's fairy tale life and starts to form a relationship with her to look for guidance. The stepsisters are animated to look as if they're almost 40. The Disney team is a crafty sort. Anastasia ends up finding consummate happiness, against her mother's will, with a poor and chubby baker.
Finally, another element I'm having difficulty accepting is that every few scenes or so all the characters break into pop songs. It's the standard Busby Berkley in a cartoon kind of staging, but all the songs sound like they're performed by a Dixie Chick. It's not quite the lilting grace of "A dream is a wish your heart makes," but more "Oops, I did it again."
Now, who would've known that this movie was so socially progressive? Fittingly, the song at the closing credits is "Bippity Boppity Boo - The Remix."
posted by Lucy Sloan @ 1:02 AM
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