In Tarsem Singh’s Mirror Mirror, Julia Roberts does at least prove that she is no longer the prettiest women of them all. While initially underwhelmed by the over-exaggerated, yet under-executed imagery of this try hard fantasy fairytale, the movie does at least have some semi-redeemable qualities. Did you grow up adoring the positive message of the original Snow White tale, where an independent, spirited, young woman meets the loveable, mischievous, yet wise dwarves? Then there are definitely a few things to take away here. The story is a classic: our helpless protagonist Snow (Lily Collins) triumphantly forces a change in power from the wicked queen played by Roberts, and saves the town from unfair taxation and a renegade beast in the surrounding woods. Throw in some surly bandit dwarfs, a painfully plain prince (Armie Hammer, one of the Winklevoss twins from the Social Network) and you get a classic fable awkwardly adapted into a modern semi-epic that is almost suitable for the whole family.
Still, we couldn’t help but wish that Tim Burton had been involved somehow, because the overall tone just ends up too cutesy and something in the delivery lacked the excitement and gusto expected of a big budget, well-casted Disney remake. However, as an aside we have to give a nod to the wonderfully over-the-top costumes and vibrant cinematography. Both help to occasionally spark that feeling you may be watching something that could become a cult classic.
The big stumbling block though, is the movie is just so painfully cheesy. The one liners are so poorly delivered you at times wonder what the cast was thinking while reading the script. This lack of edge makes it hard to really properly dislike Julia Roberts’ wicked queen. Instead we just kept recalling he roles as a middle-aged hippie and a call girl, two images you don’t really need in a children’s movie. The plot was by the numbers too: it is a fairytale after all, still we did find the closing scene, where Snow White leads the dwarves and the rest of the town through a Bollywood inspired dance number both confusing and awe inspiring. It’s pretty symptomatic of the whole movie—something that tries hard to dazzle but too often misses the mark.