Film Review

09 January 2009 04:05 BST

Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Directed byZach Helm, starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman and Zach Mills, out December 14th, running time 94 mins.

In a nutshell...

Willy Wonka toy-shop style

What's it all about?

Magical toy store owner Mr Magorium is preparing to depart from life, after a long and eventful 243 years. The Wonder Emporium he owns is his home, his livelihood and his world so in preparing for his departure ("dying" is a phrase not used, but understood), Magorium must get his Toy store valued by an accountant, so that its inheritor knows exactly what they’re getting. The Wonder Emporium also serves as an escape from the real world by its only two employees: Molly Mahoney and Eric Applebaum. Mahoney, a former child pianist and prodigy, is struggling with the transition into adulthood and finding her own inner magic and Eric is a little boy struggling to make friends. Together the trio get lost in the magic of the toy store, failing at every turn to get the "mutant" accountant to believe that imagination and magic is the glue of life.

But can they convince him this in time, before Mr Magorium departs? Can Mahoney finish her symphony and begin the story of her own life? And can Eric learn to let people in and finally make a friend?

Who's in it?

Dustin Hoffman does his best Gene Wilder impersonation and falls short, acting like a caricature of a wacky toy shop owner. Natalie Portman is as wooden as the box she is given by Magorium to help her find her magic, and Zach Mills is standard as Eric and does the wide-eyed thing well. Jason Bateman as the "mutant" is quite unexpected however. In a film of little magic, his character's transition from loathable to likeable is in itself a miracle, realistic and touching, especially in the scene where he lets himself go and starts to imagine. Directed and written by the man behind the film Stranger Than Fiction, Zach Helm, the movie looks pleasant but the script never manages to connect with both children or adults past its magical exterior.

As an example...

Molly Mahoney: "Are you dying?"
Mr Magorium: "Light bulbs die, my dear. I am departing."

Mr Magorium: "I've hired an accountant."
Molly Mahoney: "What?"
Mr Magorium: "It's a cross between a counter and a mutant."

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars?

The acting was below par, the script was neither engaging nor witty and the special effects were not nearly good enough. So, no.

What the others say

"Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is not as fantastic or transporting as it might have been. It's not particularly amusing either. But the film has its eyes on more serious things: love and sharing and making the most of life." – John Wirt, 2theadvocate.com

"Dramatically, the film frequently stalls but Hoffman produces the kind of shrewdly whimsical performance he can do standing on his head and Portman attempts a wide-eyed innocence with some skill." - Derek Malcolm, Evening Standard

So is it any good?

Whilst visually pretty, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium lacks the sparkle it tries so desperately to convey. Though its heart is in the right place, the themes and life-lessons don't hit the right notes for children or adults due to the unimaginative script, two-dimensional performances and annoying special effects.

With the exception of Jason Bateman as the mutant, all of the main characters felt shallow by the films end. Mahoney's final realisation that she does possess the magic inside her needed to look after the Wonder Emporium is annoyingly trite and Eric's situation of having no friends is questionable, since there is nothing especially weird or strange about him at all (even factoring in an odd hat collection). Hoffman is good bordering on ok, yet anything less than fantastic from him will always disappoint. Because of the acting however, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium lacks the heart needed for such strong themes of love, making the most of life, finding your own song and starting your own story.

The special effects also failed to add any substance, with a few scenes looking so fake and blue-screened that all sense of reality (as in, 'Wow, this is really happening!') was lost.

If I needed any more proof that this film failed to hit its audience, it would be in the answer I got from the seven-year-old I took to see this film. When I asked her if she liked the film she screwed up her face, before definitively stating: "Nope. Well, the toys were ok but it wasn’t the best movie... it was a bit boring". Enough said.

3.5/10>

Louise Cadell

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