Mirror Mirror

Starring: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Mare Winningham, Jordan Prentice, Mark Povinelli, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sean Bean
Directed by: Tarsem Singh
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Snow White (Lily Collins) escapes the clutches of her evil stepmother (Julia Roberts), and joining forces with seven dwarves, fights to free the kingdom that is rightfully hers.

Review:

Tim: Mirror Mirror is one of those films that looked better than it was expected, but still not nearly as good as it should have been. 2012 was interesting because of the competing Snow White projects (why does this keep happening in Hollywood?). You have Snow White and the Huntsman, which looked like a sprawling, epic, dark reimagining of the Snow White story. And, you had Mirror Mirror, which just looked like a silly, less effective film. That's because this movie is, in fact, not very good. Still, it was better than the trailers would have you suggest.

Mirror Mirror is a pretty goofy movie, but that is to be expected. As much as this is an adventure film, it's also clearly a comedy. That's fine, because adventure comedies can be quite good. This one just misses the mark a bit. It almost needed to take itself just a bit more seriously, so we'd be more invested in the story. Still, going the zany, fun route certainly makes this a unique film.

I have to say that I was not very impressed with Lily Collins as Snow White. This was obviously the most challenging piece of casting. While she certainly looks like Snow (what was up with the eyebrows, though?), Collins just is not a strong enough actress to carry a movie like this. I never really felt connected with her character, and despite the wide range of emotions she goes through in this film, that didn't translate well on the big screen. I was never able to get invested in her story. She just hasn't had enough experience carrying a movie, and it shows. Collins is quite young and has time to perfect her craft, but the film could have used a stronger lead.

While Julia Roberts was an unconventional choice to play the evil Queen, I actually liked the casting. Now, the focus of the film was on Roberts way too mcuh. No one really cares all that much about the Queen, and yet, Roberts was on most of the promotional material (and Roberts alone). This can sometimes happen when you have a huge star in a movie he or she normally doesn't do. The focus was so much on Roberts that it detracted from the rest of the film. Indeed, we spend more time on Roberts' Queen than we should. This contributes to the fact that we can never really identify with Snow. So, that was a major mistake. As far as Roberts, for the most part, I thought she did a good job. She really embraces her mean side here, and she was fun to watch in such an unlikable role. For one of "America's Sweethearts", she did a good job playing the villain, and the fun she had shows up on screen. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't always help her performance, and she just has too much screen time. There's a few too many scenes of over-acting on Roberts' part, and this hurts the film.

I actually enjoyed Armie Hammer as the Prince, which surprised me. I did like him in The Social Network, but I wondered how'd he do at establishing himself as an actor. This film certainly helps. While his acting ability wasn't exactly great, Hammer brings a youthful charm and energy to the movie. He's fun to watch because he is having such a good time playing this character and was not afraid to look silly or laugh at himself. The puppy love scenes were goofy, but they worked because of his performance. He was a surprisingly good casting choice.

Nathan Lane was average in this film. He has a few strong moments, but overacts far too much. I thought it was an interesting choice to cast midgets as the dwarves, but it worked out well. The casting of each of them was very well done, and they worked well together. I really enjoyed them and they provided some comedic relief. I wish the comedy wasn't so basic and rote, but it did make me laugh on occasion.

This movie makes some nice tweaks to the Snow White tale, to keep it feeling fresh and updated. The story isn't all that engaging, however. At 106 minutes, the movie wisely doesn't drag on too long at all. However, the individual scenes just aren't that memorable. There's nothing that is really terrible or awful with the story (which, for this movie is really good!), but it just doesn't have any kind of lasting impact. The story is the type that just hits you with a glancing blow, and you move on and forget it. I was surprised by how ineffective much of the movie was. The best movies are the ones that grab ahold of you and never fully leave you. This movie was the exact opposite, and that really hurts.

So, Mirror Mirror was definitely better than I expected. It's a fun, harmless family film that gives a new twist on the Snow White legend. There's absolutely no reason not to see this film. I had a moderately entertaining time. However, if you are looking for a memorable, truly enjoyable viewing experience, this film is not for you. There's too many flaws and weaknesses, which blunt the movie's impact. This is an average, forgettable film. You can't do that, especially when you are competing against another movie that has the exact same subject matter as you. Mirror Mirror was the first Snow White project of 2012, but it sets the bar fairly low.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White and the Huntsman, Enchanted