He had to be the king's daughter's son

A fourth old blog I saved from my MySpace account.

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OF COURSE! He had to be the king's daughter's son: A Critique of Stardust



Written by: Cherie Black



Typical predictable with a new twist is how I would describe star-studded, sci-fi/fantasy Stardust, a standard tale of good versus evil and finding the love of your life. In an attempt to woo his teenage crush Victoria, Tristan (Charlie Cox) declares that he will cross the forbidden wall to bring her a fallen star, which happens to a lovely young woman instead of a lump of rock. Naturally, there are a few bumps along the way: Tristan is captured by pirates and duels a witch. But in the end, he matures into a man, marries the star, and becomes king of the peculiar kingdom he has been traveling (go figure, he is heir to the throne ;-).



Michelle Pfeiffer stars as the witch, and the role fits her well. This is part of the problem. The character is too easy for her; it's no where near the more challenging roles she's capable of. As a result, all of her acting mishaps stand out. For example, this witch is obsessed with being beautiful, so much so that she chooses to use some of the last fallen star she captured to firm the lines of her face… each use has its consequence, and immediately after the face lift, her breasts drop. This scene is supposed to be funny; however, though it is technically well-acted, the joke falls flat.



A similar issue occurs with Claire Danes, the fallen star. She can play the supernatural semi-damsel in distress to a tee. But, somehow, her character still seems stiff… The glowing hair makes her skin look yellow and cold, and in the end, we vote for her over the fascinatingly devilish Victoria simply because she is nice to Tristan.



Considering the abilities of both stars, one immediately wonders if the issue lies not with the actors but the story itself. Enter Robert De Niro – the saving grace of this film. As Captain Shakespeare, he delights and amuses. It doesn't matter if he is barking orders to his crew or prancing around his cabin in a tutu while singing opera. De Niro succeeds as the witty transvestite who is trying to protect his reputation as a rough-and-tough pirate. Our true hero!!



All in all, Stardust is a conventionally cute flick with enough sparkle to top the box office charts and then disappear within a year.