Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) and Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx). (Yahoo Singapore)
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? If you like musicals.
Should you watch this for free? Sure.
Secret ending? Yes.
Running time: 118 minutes (~2 hours)
“Annie” is musical comedy, an adaptation of the stage musical “Annie.” It is about a money-minded politician who adopts an orphan girl as a publicity stunt, but ends up learning about the value of family. It stars Jamie Foxx (Will Stacks), Quvenzhané Wallis (Annie Bennett), Rose Byrne (Grace Farrell), Bobby Cannavale (Guy), and Cameron Diaz (Colleen Hannigan).
“Annie” has all the necessary qualities and components to be a fun singalong musical, with catchy tunes, a story of redemption, a strong child lead and identifiable characters. Yet it seems to miss that spark of sincerity, coming off as just another commercial venture. Ironic, though, that it seems more of a product of the tycoon Will Stacks than genuine orphan Annie.
Highlights
Rose Byrne delivers an interesting performance as Grace Farrell
Of all the characters, Grace feels the least cliched. Her flaws are the most realistic of the lot, if a little over-the-top, and she doesn’t hog the spotlight as much as the other main characters. If anything, because she take the middle ground, she’s the most representative of the Everyman in the film – the person who has to constantly make decisions to be a Will Stacks or an Annie.
Modern context of the movie
It’s always a treat to see movies acknowledge the existence of social media – it’s just like how ten years back, movies started acknowledging the existence of mobile phones and how that could very easily solve many plot points. What appears to be a throwaway laugh turns out to be a set up for the the end of the film, a crucial factor in the victory of our antagonists.
It’s a feel-good movie
You’re most likely going to tear (but not sob) in the climax of the film, after seeing what Will Stacks and Annie mean to each other. As artificial as it is, it does restore your faith in humanity by showing you that there is hope for better change in the world.
Letdowns
Musical performances feel artificial
It’s difficult to put a finger on it if you’re not musical, but the performances just feel like they’ve been manufactured to be catchy and repeatable, rather than meaningful songs about human nature. It’s not that the songs are not enjoyable. Rather, it makes you acutely aware that the songs are specifically written to be sold as part of a soundtrack after the movie’s release.
Conflict feels hollow
The central conflict of the film feels forced, rather than an organic clash of motivations between characters. And indeed, the conflict does get resolved by the end of the film, but in the most pat, unoriginal way possible. There’s no truth to the conflict that the characters face, which in turn results in resolution that is neither satisfying nor logical, to an extent.
The child characters are terribly annoying
Besides for Quvenzhané Wallis, the other child actors are high-pitched and irritating, serving no other purpose but to show that Annie has friends. What exacerbates this problem is their constant squealing – they’re nothing more than a noisy plot device. They could have been portrayed as more mature, sensible children, rather than the cacophony of brats presented here.
“Annie” hits all the right notes except the most important one – heart. It feels like a movie that was made for the sake of being made, rather than being true to the artistic vision that inspired the story. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining musical comedy, so go into it without too much expectations.
“Annie” opens in cinemas 18 December, 2014 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.
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