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Into the Woods
I went to go see Into the Woods the other day, and I have to say it's a resounding "meh" for me. Granted, I grew up watching the Great Performances recording of the original Broadway cast, so I'm used to seeing the show played a certain way. I have to say, I really disagree with how the movie's director chose to do the show. Almost all of the humor was completely stripped from the script and songs in this movie. Lines of dialogue which always made me laugh before just fell flat. It was all just so SERIOUS.
I feel as if all potential empathy for the Witch was stripped from the movie as well because they changed how things played out with Rapunzel. There was no post-tower PTSD with Rapunzel and instead she was just "You locked me up, now I have a prince, I never want to see you again." They just rode off together never to be heard from again. Rapunzel didn't die at the hands of the lady giant, which completely altered the Witch's motivation towards handing Jack to the giant. When you know the Witch is grieving for her dead daughter, it makes more sense that she'd be ready to kill the kid she feels is responsible for her death. Without that, it seemed like the Witch just didn't want to be blamed for the magic beans and that's why she took on the curse again and disappeared, rather than having it be penance for not keeping Rapunzel safe.
Oh, and was it just me, or did they totally rearrange where the song "Children Will Listen" was sung in the film? In the show, doesn't the Witch sing it after Rapunzel leaves her? That's honestly the most wrenching, emotional song in the whole show, and by not including it they really cheated the movie out of one of the best moments. They played it at the very end as a reprise like they do in the show, but it just didn't have the same impact at all.
I also HATED how they played the Wolf. My future SIL went to see the movie blind, having never seen or heard the musical before. I asked her if she actually got that Johnny Depp was supposed to be a literal wolf and not just some guy in a furry zoot suit. She said that it wasn't until the end of the song where he howled and she saw his tail that she realized he was actually a literal wolf and not just some pervy dude whose song was full of wolf-related double entendres.
Chris Pine totally stole the show for me. Probably because he was the only character to make me laugh. I loved the performance of "Agony" between the two princes. I just wish they hadn't cut the second act reprise of "Agony" because a) the first song was so good and b) the movie desperately could have used more humor. Emily Blunt was also good. The kids (Jack and Red Riding Hood) were both good. Meryl Streep pleasantly surprise me, simply because my last experience with her singing was Mamma Mia!, which was TERRIBLE. My issues with Meryl's performance as the Witch has much more to do with the direction rather than the acting/singing itself. Anna Kendrick was fine, but nothing to write home about. The guy who played the Baker was just kind of there. Chris Pine really was the best part of the movie.
In summation, right after I post this I'm going to head over to Amazon and see if they still sell the DVD of the Broadway performance. I had it on VHS back in the day and it WAS on Netflix but they took it down. I promised both my SIL and future SIL that the original show is much, MUCH better than the movie and has a lot more going to it, so I should try to get ahold of a copy.
I feel as if all potential empathy for the Witch was stripped from the movie as well because they changed how things played out with Rapunzel. There was no post-tower PTSD with Rapunzel and instead she was just "You locked me up, now I have a prince, I never want to see you again." They just rode off together never to be heard from again. Rapunzel didn't die at the hands of the lady giant, which completely altered the Witch's motivation towards handing Jack to the giant. When you know the Witch is grieving for her dead daughter, it makes more sense that she'd be ready to kill the kid she feels is responsible for her death. Without that, it seemed like the Witch just didn't want to be blamed for the magic beans and that's why she took on the curse again and disappeared, rather than having it be penance for not keeping Rapunzel safe.
Oh, and was it just me, or did they totally rearrange where the song "Children Will Listen" was sung in the film? In the show, doesn't the Witch sing it after Rapunzel leaves her? That's honestly the most wrenching, emotional song in the whole show, and by not including it they really cheated the movie out of one of the best moments. They played it at the very end as a reprise like they do in the show, but it just didn't have the same impact at all.
I also HATED how they played the Wolf. My future SIL went to see the movie blind, having never seen or heard the musical before. I asked her if she actually got that Johnny Depp was supposed to be a literal wolf and not just some guy in a furry zoot suit. She said that it wasn't until the end of the song where he howled and she saw his tail that she realized he was actually a literal wolf and not just some pervy dude whose song was full of wolf-related double entendres.
Chris Pine totally stole the show for me. Probably because he was the only character to make me laugh. I loved the performance of "Agony" between the two princes. I just wish they hadn't cut the second act reprise of "Agony" because a) the first song was so good and b) the movie desperately could have used more humor. Emily Blunt was also good. The kids (Jack and Red Riding Hood) were both good. Meryl Streep pleasantly surprise me, simply because my last experience with her singing was Mamma Mia!, which was TERRIBLE. My issues with Meryl's performance as the Witch has much more to do with the direction rather than the acting/singing itself. Anna Kendrick was fine, but nothing to write home about. The guy who played the Baker was just kind of there. Chris Pine really was the best part of the movie.
In summation, right after I post this I'm going to head over to Amazon and see if they still sell the DVD of the Broadway performance. I had it on VHS back in the day and it WAS on Netflix but they took it down. I promised both my SIL and future SIL that the original show is much, MUCH better than the movie and has a lot more going to it, so I should try to get ahold of a copy.