Saturday, 5 June 2004 05:35 pm
Mmm, yummy words. Don't you just love to eat your own?
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deckardcanineOn more than one forum, I have expressed dislike for "Shrek" and a grim outlook on "Shrek 2." Eventually I decided to give it a shot; after all, I despised "The Spy Who Shagged Me" but got a kick out of "Goldmember" -- maybe it's all about knowing what to expect. The difference in my enjoyment of the Shreks turned out to be more dramatic than with Mike Myers' other recent popular series.
Let me start by saying why I found the first one mediocre at best.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
darthhowie had fostered my post-viewing inclination to believe that "Shrek" made itself out to be more intelligent than it really was. (Howie can enjoy doofy movies, but only if they're open about it.) We both thought that the "clever" parts were not all that original; the "Matrix" spoof, tho it made me LOL, was a prominent example of overdone gag. Howie pointed out there were too many fart jokes, and in a different way from the "South Park" movie: not pushing them past the limits with whole songs and whatnot, but inserting them when things got quiet (rather like a couple points in the later Austin Powers movies, come to think of it). Might I add that there were at least three ass puns. In general, jokes were obvious if not discernible from a mile away. Yeah, there's an irony to almost everything in the film. That knowledge leaves little room for humorous surprise.
It gets worse. Donkey is supposed to be annoying in a fun way, but we found him annoying solely in an annoying way. And I can't speak for Howie on this point, but I found many details rather disturbing -- not just the odd coupling with the dragon. The blend of cartooniness and realism (a realism which Cameron Diaz herself called scary) led me to feel overly affected by the mishaps of many characters. I can put up with the animal balloons, because that actually was pretty clever, but the exploding bird whose eggs got fried crossed the line for me.
But then, I knew very little about "Shrek" before I saw it. I knew it was an animated comedy about fairy tales featuring a supposedly lovable big green guy. Little did I know he was the type to make bubbles the old-fashioned way. Going into the theater today, I braced myself for what Ebert said might have appealed to him if he hadn't seen the precursor.
Now how did they make it ten times more colorful?
In retrospect, what I liked best about the first film was the use of characters out of actual fairy tales. (Howie says his favorite part was the torture of the Gingerbread Man. BTW, can anyone think of an internally consistent way for the G-Man to lose both legs, then appear with one and a candy cane, then have them both back?) These characters were overshadowed before; now they play prominent roles. Furthermore, general spoofs come both more frequently and more gracefully IMO. Donkey hasn't improved, but at least his lady is all but absent, and nothing repulses me to a great extent.
And yes, unlike Howie, I'm a cat lover. I only wish someone would make a good comedy with a cat that did not involve hairballs -- rather graphically and needlessly, in this case.
**It will not be "Garfield: The Movie," regardless of whether that has any hairballs. At the moment, I can think of absolutely nothing short of interpersonal salvation that will get me to watch it. Money? Poverty has its virtues. Love? Any woman who demands it of me is not my type. Threat to life and limb? At least that would be a learning experience.**
Oh, one more thing -- there's a minor flaw in S2 that I can forgive simply because it happens in many movies, including classics like "Singin' in the Rain" and "Alice in Wonderland": someone announces one key and performs in another. It's a mere half-step in AIW, but you don't need perfect pitch to tell C minor from G minor (or A flat from E flat, in SITR).
Let me start by saying why I found the first one mediocre at best.
darthhowie had fostered my post-viewing inclination to believe that "Shrek" made itself out to be more intelligent than it really was. (Howie can enjoy doofy movies, but only if they're open about it.) We both thought that the "clever" parts were not all that original; the "Matrix" spoof, tho it made me LOL, was a prominent example of overdone gag. Howie pointed out there were too many fart jokes, and in a different way from the "South Park" movie: not pushing them past the limits with whole songs and whatnot, but inserting them when things got quiet (rather like a couple points in the later Austin Powers movies, come to think of it). Might I add that there were at least three ass puns. In general, jokes were obvious if not discernible from a mile away. Yeah, there's an irony to almost everything in the film. That knowledge leaves little room for humorous surprise.It gets worse. Donkey is supposed to be annoying in a fun way, but we found him annoying solely in an annoying way. And I can't speak for Howie on this point, but I found many details rather disturbing -- not just the odd coupling with the dragon. The blend of cartooniness and realism (a realism which Cameron Diaz herself called scary) led me to feel overly affected by the mishaps of many characters. I can put up with the animal balloons, because that actually was pretty clever, but the exploding bird whose eggs got fried crossed the line for me.
But then, I knew very little about "Shrek" before I saw it. I knew it was an animated comedy about fairy tales featuring a supposedly lovable big green guy. Little did I know he was the type to make bubbles the old-fashioned way. Going into the theater today, I braced myself for what Ebert said might have appealed to him if he hadn't seen the precursor.
Now how did they make it ten times more colorful?
In retrospect, what I liked best about the first film was the use of characters out of actual fairy tales. (Howie says his favorite part was the torture of the Gingerbread Man. BTW, can anyone think of an internally consistent way for the G-Man to lose both legs, then appear with one and a candy cane, then have them both back?) These characters were overshadowed before; now they play prominent roles. Furthermore, general spoofs come both more frequently and more gracefully IMO. Donkey hasn't improved, but at least his lady is all but absent, and nothing repulses me to a great extent.
And yes, unlike Howie, I'm a cat lover. I only wish someone would make a good comedy with a cat that did not involve hairballs -- rather graphically and needlessly, in this case.
**It will not be "Garfield: The Movie," regardless of whether that has any hairballs. At the moment, I can think of absolutely nothing short of interpersonal salvation that will get me to watch it. Money? Poverty has its virtues. Love? Any woman who demands it of me is not my type. Threat to life and limb? At least that would be a learning experience.**
Oh, one more thing -- there's a minor flaw in S2 that I can forgive simply because it happens in many movies, including classics like "Singin' in the Rain" and "Alice in Wonderland": someone announces one key and performs in another. It's a mere half-step in AIW, but you don't need perfect pitch to tell C minor from G minor (or A flat from E flat, in SITR).
