The Whitworthian

Issue date: 10/9/07

Movie Review: “Stardust”
Staring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Claire Danes, Charlie Cox
Director: Mathew Vaughn
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
Run time: 1:52
Genre: Fantasy/Comedy/Romance

A pure fantasy film with exaggerated goofiness, “Stardust” is the kind of movie that requires a little patience because it gets better with time.

The screenplay, which is adapted from Neil Gaiman’s New York Bestseller “Stardust,” is something of a gem due to the now rarity of classic modern fairy tales.

“Stardust” has been compared to “The Princess Bride,” “The Never Ending Story” and “Willow” but is better because a) it has sophisticated special effects, b) does actually end at one point and c) boasts a youthful pair of likeable actors supported by the big names of Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro.

The movie’s production notes describe “Stardust” as a “distinctive combination of big film making techniques and independent film making spirit.”

But unlike “The Chronicles of Narnia” or “Lord of the Rings,” “Stardust” isn’t trying to be earnest and the characters don’t take themselves too seriously, which makes some of the silliness charming. Ultimately the film delivers ideas about identify, fitting in and following your heart.

Director Mathew Vaughn’s past work includes mostly indie flicks (“Snatch,” “Layer Cake”). His touch shows in the films heart and emotion, but a fantasy kick was required to bring the screenplay to life. Because of that Vaughn chose to collaborate with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura – a man who was largely involved with taking “Harry Potter” from novel to motion picture.

The first part of the film is slow-moving but it is necessary due to its explanative function; after all, the movie is based on a novel, and the audience needs to be informed of the world the characters live in, their history, goals, etc. The film’s biggest setback is the opening, but wait it out and you’ll be delightfully surprised at what lies in store.

The movie’s plot is based on the aspirations of the sweet but awkward Tristan (Charlie Cox), a shop boy who hopes to travel the world and someday win the heart of the village beauty, Victoria (Sienna Miller).

Unfortunately for Tristan, Victoria’s moral depth is as shallow as a mud puddle. In order to win her hand in marriage, the blonde half-wit sends an earnest Tristan to retrieve a falling star in the promise that if he returns by her birthday, she will consent to a union.

In order to complete this task Tristan has to leave his hometown of Wall, England, and venture into the magical Kingdom of Stormhold (which is supposed to be off-limits). Upon finding the star, Tristan discovers that instead of a giant rock it is a beautiful woman named Evain (Claire Danes).

At this point, and for awhile, the movie is interesting, but it is not until Evain and Tristan accidentally find themselves on a sailing ship of marauders skippered by Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) that the movie can finally be described as entertaining.

De Niro brings needed maturity to the cast, rescuing not only Evain and Tristan from a cloud (how they got stuck there is another story) but the film as well. Up until that point the acting was primarily resting on the few scenes that focused on Pfeiffer.

In what has to be De Niro’s campiest screen performance of all time, we see him posing as a reputation obsessed, fearless pirate of the sky (his ship flies, by the way) living a dual existence of which his crew is aware of, but, out of love for their leader, has behaved oblivious of.

Complete with a drag scene charade outfitted with leather boas, corsets and facial paint, De Niro brings the same kind of originality to Captain Shakespeare as Johnny Depp brought to Captain Jack Sparrow.

Watching him prance around in front of a mirror wearing a dress is downright priceless. Plus, seeing his happy girlish side on-screen is as rare a thing these days as Beanie Babies: We’re talking about the same guy who made Greg Focker’s life hell in “Meet the Parents” and played the dynamic mercenary of “The Mission.”

Todd Gilchrist of IGN movies said “while it might be hasty to suggest an Oscar nomination for De Niro in this role, he does turn what could have been a disastrously broad caricature into what ultimately becomes the emotional support system for the rest of the film.”

Pfeiffer is equally enthralling in her role as Lamia, a decrepit old witch who will stop at nothing to get her hands on Evain so that she may eviscerate her, eat her heart and regain her youth. Tristan takes on the role of Evain’s protector as Lamia upsets everything that stands in the path of her goat-driven cart (who knew? Goats can pull carts) by shooting green sparks out of her bony index finger.

If you thought Pfeiffer was a freaky looking dead person in “What Lies Beneath,” her makeup in “Stardust” puts that former role to shame.

Much to her agitation, Lamia’s power usage has severe effects on her beauty. Having eaten what was left of the last falling star in order to emerge out into the world again to find Evain, we watch Pfeiffer become the antitheses of “aging gracefully” as she goes from ugly to hot, and then slowly back to a balding, wrinkly old hag (how she still manages to look pretty beneath all of the age makeup is Hollywood’s secret).

Joining in Lamia’s hunt for the fallen star are the last living sons of the newly diseased King of Stormhold (the timeless Peter O’Toole), who have all followed in their father’s footstep of committing fraternal murder to get their hands on the crown. Their father gives his remaining three sons the task of retrieving an absurdly large ruby, which Evain is wearing around her neck.

All of the brothers are eventually killed, but return as the peanut gallery of ghosts who provide hilarious comedic commentary up until the end of the film. Among one of them is Rupert Everett, who manages to entertain without stealing the show.

Despite some critics saying that Claire Danes was wrongly cast, she brings that Gwyneth Paltrow-ish glow to the screen in all of her imperfect beauty and commanding stage presence.

Down the road Tristan becomes gorgeous after De Niro gives him a makeover, Claire Danes professes her love to a chinchilla/mouse rodent, and we see that royal people really do bleed blue blood.

Most original scene goes to Tristan’s sword fight with a dead body, which is controlled by Lamia via a voodoo doll.

It is a goofy, kind of farce movie, halfway between fairy tale for kids and fairy tale for adults. But overall “Stardust” is fun and worthwhile, mostly because there’s a unicorn and because “I love you” is so irresistible when spoken in an English accent.

Contact Blair Tellers at blair.tellers@whitworthian.com.

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