Stardust

I figured I’d keep up the fantasy/magic trend for another week. Plus, I know how all of you are simply dying to hear about the new fantasy movie out in theaters entitled Stardust.

Stardust takes place initially in the village of Wall which we quickly learn is named so after the large stone wall that separates it from a magical world. The people of Wall know very little about this other world because no one ever crosses the wall. Well, that is, until now.

A young man in Wall named Tristan is in love with Victoria, a beautiful girl who doesn’t seem to notice Tristan because she has eyes for Humphrey, a more dashing, mature, and frankly, mean person. When given the chance to proclaim his love for her, Tristan promises to bring her back a star that they see falling from the sky. She tells him she’ll wait one week for him to do so before she commits herself to Humphrey forever.

In the meantime, the King of Stormhold is dying, and his sons all want the throne. On his deathbed the King tells them that the son who regains his jewel pendant and once again makes it shine red will take his place. They quickly set out to do so, and they’ll do anything to get it.

Lastly, there are three powerful sister witches who have heard of the fallen star. A fallen star to a witch is like the fountain of youth, and these three sisters could use some beautifying. One of them, Lamia, sets out to find it and, like the princes, will stop at nothing!

When Tristan gets to the star, he is quite surprised to find that the star is actually a person! It's a girl, more specifically, whose name is Yvaine. He plans to take her to Victoria so she will marry him, while the witches are after her so they can cut out her heart, and the princes end up chasing her because somehow, she ended up with the jewel pendant they want. It isn’t easy being a fallen star.

Stardust has a lot of good things about it. It’s a wonderfully sweet love story, not lacking in comedy, with a compelling plot of impending doom. There are some definite Princess Bride-like moments throughout the film, when the filmmakers are clearly poking fun at the genre. Stardust takes itself much more seriously than Princess Bride, however, and relies more on special effects and typical gags than on the wit of its characters. Also, there are a number of points throughout the movie when we really don’t know why what’s happening is happening, as though we’re out of the loop. It’s a bit like when you’re playing a game with a 6-year-old, and he decides partway through the game that some of the rules no longer apply, but then don’t forget these new rules that (unbeknownst to you, of course) allow the child to instantly win. The director and screenwriter made up the rules for their fantasy world as they went along, and we’re expected to just accept it without asking any questions. I had a slight problem with this at times, but since it was a fairytale, it wasn’t too hard to let it go.

Charlie Cox as Tristan was charming. Michelle Pfeiffer as the old witch Lamia was as convincing as you’d imagine her to be. She does haughty and evil pretty well. Claire Danes was OK as the spunky-yet-sweet Yvaine, the fallen star, but I had a difficult time totally buying her character. Plus, she has this annoying neck craning tendency that bothered me. Robert DeNiro also makes an appearance as a pirate, Captain Shakespeare, with a secret identity. He’s fabulous. (But I won’t spoil it for you.) Other notable actors are Peter O'Toole as the King, Ricky Gervais as Ferdy the Fence, and Mark Strong as Septimus.

Rating: 11

Stardust was a very enjoyable movie, complete with love, magic, swordfights, pirates, wit, style, humor, and romance. The characters are satisfactory, even while the plot is a bit convoluted. While it shares some similarities with The Princess Bride, I wouldn’t compare the two on the same level. If you don’t like fairytales, you shouldn’t rush to see this movie, but I think that most people would find something redeemable in it. I’ll definitely be seeing it again!