Gnomeo&Juliet

Gnomeo, Gnomeo where for art thou, Gnomeo? He’s drag racing a lawnmower in your backyard! Emily Blunt, James McAvoy and Michael Cane star in this hoot of an Shakespeare adaptation, Gnomeo & Juliet. The Kelly Asbury directed 3-D picture hits theaters nationwide Friday, January 21st. Check out the review below…

The Players:

• Director: Kelly Asbury
• Writers: Kelly Asbury, Mark Burton
• Cast: Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, Michael Cane, Jason Statham

The Plot:

We’re working with an adorably embellished/child-proof rendition of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet. Gnomeo (McAvoy) of the “blues” and Juliet of the “reds” exist in competing backyards among fellow garden gnomes, mushrooms, bunnies, what have you. Battles between lawnmowers, weed-whackers, and miracle grow keep these pint sized statues at odds, until Gnomeo and Juliet meet and sparks fly. You know the rest.

The Good:

• Adaptation: We’ve seen our fair share of both impressive and abominable Shakespeare adaptations, but we’ve yet to see one geared towards kids. Asbury re-writes several pivotal story points to better suit her target audience – most notably, no deaths occur. And, let’s be real, unless you’re incredibly stoned or over the age of 13, 3-D gnome duels and suicide sessions don’t make for .
• Humor: Again, the film is aimed to please a younger demographic but I’m happy to report that Asbury works in some subtle adult humor – some of it being blatantly sexual, actually. Cheers!
• Animation: It’s a visually pleasing picture from the character illustrations to the exotic color palettes to the hysterical “fight” choreography. (Also note the FABULOUS dance number before the closing credits).

The Bad:

• Music: It pains me to make any remotely negative comment towards anythin Sir. Elton John has touched, but there’s no way to cushion the truth here: The Music Was Bad. John threw in a measure or two from some of his classic jams (which were obviously awesome) but the original tunes couldn’t have been less catchy. Fail.

Overall:

It’s not easy to hate on a kids movie, but it’s not any easier to shower it with praise. You get what the genre typically delivers.

Rating: 7/10