Review of Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) by Michael M — 10 Nov 2011

When the commercials for this movie first started popping up, my reaction was less than positive. However, it recently appeared on Netflix instant, and having something instantly available for you has a funny way of turning "I don't want to see this," into "I guess I'll watch this.".

I like Shakespeare's work, but I've always considered Romeo & Juliet to be his poorest entry. It's the story of two kids who were driven by hormones and mistook adolescent horniness for true love and killed themselves over someone they had barely just met. Maybe this admittedly pessimistic view was Shakespeare's original intention; but we'll never know, the man died almost 400 years ago, and none of the plentiful adaptations I've seen (from the adequate 1968 film to the atrocious 1996 film) seem to approach it this way, and feel like little more than fodder for the high school girls who are a little bit more cultured than the Twilight crowd. So along comes Gnomeo and Juliet, a loose adaptation of the story starring garden gnomes. Ridiculous? Totally. Stupid? Little bit. But it does manage to be a more enjoyable adaptation than I'm used to.

Our story takes place in the backyard of a duplex lived in by two elderly rivals: Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet. For some reason or another, their rivalry extends to their lawn ornaments, with a feud between the reds and the blues. One day, Juliet, a red, and Gnomeo, a blue, meet by chance and instantly fall in love before realizing that the other is a member of their rival clan. The love actually comes off a bit more naturally than it did in Shakespeare's original work, but still too fast for what I was willing to believe; but there I go talking about believability in a story about talking garden gnomes.

The film's writers play loose with Shakespeare's story (even beyond the simple fact that they're lawn ornaments) and I expected this. A pleasant surprise however is how frequently they would pull in elements from not only Romeo and Juliet, but other works of Shakespeare as well. All the characters have a counterpart to the Shakespeare play (some more straightforward than others), many lines of dialogue are ripped straight from his works with little alteration, and there are plenty of inside jokes thrown about as well, such as a moving truck with the company name "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Movers." Kids watching the movie probably won't catch all these references, but as an adult viewer I found them charming, and it was a nice sign that the writers have a respect for the source material.

The story certainly does have changes. After all, Romeo & Juliet was a tragedy where the main characters die at the end. Things are a little different this time around (though there is a funny scene that references the original ending), particularly with what has to be the silliest climax I've ever seen in a movie. The romance is still the focal point in the film though, and the comedy seems to take a backseat. Even when the comedy is there, it usually did little more than make me chuckle, though I will admit there were a few big laughs. Not quite up to snuff with director Kelly Asbury's previous work on Shrek 2.

The biggest draw to the adult viewers is going to be the visuals. This is a great looking movie, and while about 95% of it takes place in the duplex's backyard, it's seen from the view of the Gnomes so that backyard appears huge. It's similar to the effect that you get from watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids or Toy Story. It's a fun approach, and though I will always prefer traditional animation, the CG animation here looks great. There's a healthy blend of realism and cartoon imagery without a single flawed frame. There are also a lot of celebrity voices floating around, as well as songs from Elton John, but the vocal talent that takes the cake is Jim Cummings as a pink flamingo. Cummings has never done live action roles, and it's nice to see a genuine voice actor get a big part in a major release like this.

I watched this movie as an adult viewer looking for a bit of fluff, and for the most part it succeeded at providing this. It's true audience however, is kids. The jokes that merely incited a chuckle in me I can see igniting roars of laughter from children. It's fast paced, beautiful, and will certainly keep them entertained for 90 minutes. It's a kids' movie, but it doesn't talk down to its audience, and provides respectable entertainment for young viewers. Parents or babysitters watching it with them will probably find something to enjoy as well, and for that I congratulate the filmmakers. It's the type of film I call a "Marshmallow Movie." It has no great value overall, but it's light, fluffy, and makes you feel good.

Highlights.

Directed by: Kelly Asbury.

Screenplay by: Kelly Asbury, John R. Smith, Rob Sprackling, Mark Burton, Andy Riley, Kevin Cecil, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Steve Hamilton Shaw.

Story by: Kelly Asbury, John R. Smith, Rob Sprackling, Andy Riley, Kevin Cecil, Steve Hamilton Shaw.

Starring: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Ashley Jensen, Matt Lucas, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart.

Pros: Good fun for younger audiences and adequate entertainment for adults.

Cons: Has some of the same problems as it's source material, not all of the jokes work.

Rated: G, contains some scenes of peril as well as the implied death of one character.

Should You See it?: If you have a young child it's something you can both enjoy.