Review of Into the Woods (1991) by Ben L — 28 May 2012

I'm not a huge fan of these fractured fairy tales. The way they try to blend so many fairy tales into one play almost makes the story feel scattered and confused. I see what they were trying to do, but it seems a failure on many levels. However this is a stage play not a movie, and that's how it should stay. I swear if I had seen the show in a theater then I might like it more, but when presented on a DVD it loses some of the magic. Musicals require some adaptation to be movie-worthy, so this is just a bad idea.

The music is very repetitive in this show. Most of the songs feel like variants on the initial "I Wish" song. There are a few exceptions, and those are the best songs of the entire show, but unfortunately they feel rare. The actors are pretty good (both acting and singing) however no one really stands out as remarkable. Bernadette Peters is the big name star, and she doesn't exactly steal the show. I actually think the princes were the high spot of the play, because the actors were both excellent singers and hammed up their roles quite nicely.

The real problem I have with this film is the odd tonal shift. The movie starts out light and funny. There's loads of laughter throughout the first act, and if this carried throughout I might love the play. However the second act is nothing but depression. Everything is somber, they try to teach life lessons, and people die. I realize this is by design because they were trying to share the message that life isn't a fairy tale, but I just don't care for this kind of musical. If it started serious and ended funny that would be different, but as it stands Into the Woods is a much too depressing musical and it should stay on the stage instead of on a DVD. In a word it's nice, but as Little Red Riding Hood says "Nice is different than good.".