Into the Woods
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Written by: James Lapine - Based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski, Tracy Ullman, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Billy Magnussen, MacKenzie Mauzy, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Frances De La Tour
Comedy/Family/Fantasy/Musical - 124 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 17 Dec 2014
Written by: James Lapine - Based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski, Tracy Ullman, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Billy Magnussen, MacKenzie Mauzy, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Frances De La Tour
Comedy/Family/Fantasy/Musical - 124 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 17 Dec 2014
It does not get more A-list than the cast for Into the Woods. Also, the crew's pedigree is unparalleled. The director of photography is an Oscar-winner as is the production designer and the makeup and hair designer; the costume designer has three. Then why oh why is Into the Woods so…boring? Call them contemporary all you want, but these are the same old fairy tales we’ve seen from Disney for our entire lives. All the fairy tale characters are slightly different from their original stereotypes, but they are close enough to leave you gasping for anything new. Based on the 1987 Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical, Into the Woods has its moments (“Agony”), but even Meryl Streep can’t save director Rob Marshall’s take on those crazy, mixed up fairy tale folk.
Do not accuse me of just not liking musicals. 2013’s Les Miserables was on the verge of very good being held back by the Russell Crowe debacle. Another Stephen Sondheim production, 2007's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was just fine by me. I even appreciate Rob Marshall’s two previous musicals, 2002’s Chicago and 2009’s Nine. One reason why Into the Woods fails is because its songs are not on the same level as the films just mentioned. The intro song is a whopping 16 minutes long, “It Takes Two” and “Giants in the Sky” are emblematic of a musical’s frequent problem, it beats the audience over the head with redundant information of what has just happened, what is currently happening, and then recapping what just happened.
Do not accuse me of just not liking musicals. 2013’s Les Miserables was on the verge of very good being held back by the Russell Crowe debacle. Another Stephen Sondheim production, 2007's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was just fine by me. I even appreciate Rob Marshall’s two previous musicals, 2002’s Chicago and 2009’s Nine. One reason why Into the Woods fails is because its songs are not on the same level as the films just mentioned. The intro song is a whopping 16 minutes long, “It Takes Two” and “Giants in the Sky” are emblematic of a musical’s frequent problem, it beats the audience over the head with redundant information of what has just happened, what is currently happening, and then recapping what just happened.
The show’s main characters, The Baker (James Corden, 2014's Begin Again) and The Baker’s Wife (Emily Blunt, 2014's Edge of Tomorrow) are the catalysts for most of the plot’s action when they learn from The Witch (Meryl Streep, 2014's The Giver) they cannot conceive a child because of a curse. The Witch sends them ‘into the woods’ to gather particular items within three days in order to lift the curse. The items are a blood red cape (enter Red-Riding Hood and The Wolf), a golden slipper (Cinderella), a cow (Jack and his beanstalk), and hair the color of corn (Rapunzel). The Baker spends the majority of his vocal time in the first half singing to his wife to go home and he will take care of everything leading toward one of the more obvious morals of ‘Let’s work together’.
Not every song is a throwaway though. Sondheim used his chance to poke fun at fairy tale stereotypes to torpedo the Prince Charming archetype. Perhaps the film’s most effective song is “Agony,” sung by Cinderella’s Prince (Chris Pine, 2014's Horrible Bosses 2) and Rapunzel’s Prince (Billy Magnussen, 2013's The East). They stand atop a waterfall, rip their shirts open, and proclaim how desperate they are for their respective fair maidens all the while eyeing the other one to make sure they one up their visible displays of inner turmoil. Cinderella’s Prince gets a second chance to be charming rather than sincere or even a decent human being whatsoever later on in the second half sending the story into an unexpected spin.
Perhaps Cinderella’s Prince wouldn’t be so lecherous if Cinderella herself (Anna Kendrick, 2013's Drinking Buddies) was not operating under a massive Hamlet complex. Cinderella wishes more than anything to rise up out of the dirty kitchen, attend the royal ball, and marry the Prince. However, what if she got what she wished for? Does she even like the Prince or is it just the idea of marrying a Prince which has her all in a tizzy? Here we are gifted another moral, be careful what you wish for.
Given the correct ingredients, The Witch is suddenly in a position to grant some wishes. More than simply enabling the childless couple to procreate, she may also have the chance to rid herself of her own curse of appearing as an ugly old crone. Reminiscent of her Death Becomes Her character yearning for youth and vitality, Meryl Streep is a fantastic Witch, but her singing performance is not up to par with her costars. Streep is one of the world’s greatest actors and has sung on screen a few times before (Ironweed and Mamma Mia!) but musicals are not her natural habitat. She is no Les Miz Russell Crowe or Mamma Mia! Pierce Brosnan, but her songs are nothing special either.
There is nothing inherently wrong or limiting with the idea of re-imaging very old and weathered fairy tales. Yet, just having the characters belt out their feelings and wishes instead of through dialogue does not make them any more appealing. Furthermore, it may blow a five year old's mind, but putting Cinderella into the same story as Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel is not groundbreaking originality, even for Disney. As expected, everything looks great and is photographed and lit to perfection, but the material is a film killer. No matter what you do, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella's mean ol' step-sisters will never be interesting.
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