"Shrek 2" reminds us that only real ogres have curves!

Rating: 3/10 (21 June 2007)

The new animated DreamsWorks' movie "Shrek 2" (** out of ****) recaptures only half the magic of its peerless, four-star, ground-breaking predecessor. Although the amusing animation by Pacific Data Images (PDI) lives up to--if not surpasses--the original "Shrek," the humdrum 'meet the in-laws' plot recycles the shape-shifting shenanigans of the original but reverses who's afflicted without providing enough fresh humor or hysterically hair-raising heroics. This time around, our gallant but anti-social green ogre suffers the slings and arrows of outrageous skullduggery. In "Shrek," Princess Fiona shape shifted from beauty to the beast between sunset and sun-up. In "Shrek 2," Shrek himself shifts shapes from a monstrous lime-green ogre to a broad-shouldered hunkster who resembles a buffed-up Freddie Prinze Jr. with tousled forelocks fashionably awry above his affable eyes and his massive, virile jaw. Unlike the original, the comic tomfoolery in this contrived, uninspired sequel more often than not misses the funny bone, and the protagonists --Shrek and Fiona--appear curiously anemic. Basically, Shrek delivers little of the charisma that made his character so endearing and sympathetic in the first film. Meanwhile, several new comic characters show up in "Shrek 2," such as the overconfident Puss-In-Boots and the garrulous Fairy Godmother, but they clutter up the plot and serve more to pad out its lackluster, 93-minute running time. "Shrek 2" consists of more flat scenes than funny ones, while its narrative revelations pale beside the original. Whereas the first "Shrek" ridiculed the 'happily-ever-after ,' 'knight-in-shining armor,' 'save the damsel-in-distress' plot, the predictably sappy sequel gives action the short shrift and approaches its subject like a gabby soap opera. At the same time, Donkey gets the one-and-only best line in "Shrek 2" when he advises the ogre to give Puss-In-Boots 'the Bob Barker treatment.' Sadly, not even Donkey's clowning around enlivens "Shrek 2," because the writers have diluted Donkey's character so that their underwritten sword-wielding cat can claim screen time. Nevertheless, these obvious shortcomings won't bother the kids in the audience, but adults may find themselves struggling to smile at the obvious jokes and the second-rate gags. Savvy, movie-going grown-ups will savor the many ultra-cutesy but disposable cinematic sight-gag references to other films, such as "Spider-man," "From Here To Eternity," and "The Lord of the Rings," though these add little to the plot and stand out more as mind-tickling trivia.
The original "Shrek" faded out with Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz of "Charlie's Angels") and Shrek (voice of Michael Myers of "Austin Powers") living happily ever after in his swamp with Donkey (voice of "Beverly Hills Cop" Eddie Murphy) as their unwanted neighbor intruding on them at the worst possible moments. Inevitably, Fiona's parents--Queen Lillian (voice of Julie Andrews of "The Sound of Music") and King Harold (voice of John Cleese of "Die Another Day")--invite our ogreish couple to their castle in the kingdom of Far Far Away Land. Shrek dreads meeting the parents. He fears Fiona's father won't approve of him. Can we say miscegenation? At the same time, Fiona's meddlesome Fairy Godmother (voice of Jennifer Saunders from the "Absolutely Fabulous" TV series) wants her worthless Prince Charming son (voice of Rupert Everett from "My Best Friend's Wedding") , originally betrothed to Fiona, to win her heart after Fiona breaks up with Shrek. Meanwhile, conniving King Harold pays a swashbuckling feline assassin, Puss-In-Boots (voice of Antonio Banderas of "The Mask of Zorro"), to eliminate our hero. Later, the scheming Fairy Godmother gives Shrek and Donkey a potion that transforms them into a super hunk and his snorting stallion respectively, while Fiona falls victim to a spell that makes her vulnerable to the first fellow she kisses. Prince Charming sets out to make his conquest during a dance while Shrek struggles to find Fiona. Puss- In-Boots changes sides after he fails to skewer Shrek, and nearly all the original fairy tale characters come to Shrek's aid, especially the giant Gingerbread Man who storms the castle until he is drenched in milk .
Originally, DreamWorks made no plans to produce a sequel, until "Shrek" coined over $482 plus million both domestically and overseas. Since "Shrek 2" has sold $353-plus million dollars worth of tickets, you can expect a second sequel. Hopefully, the second sequel will fare better than this first sequel. "Rugrats" scenarist J. David Stern along with original "Shrek" scribes Joe Stillman and David N. Weiss have penned an old-fashioned, off-centered fairy tale yarn that just simply isn't as side-splitting as the first "Shrek." Mind you, some of the satiric product placement witticisms will amuse you, with derivative products such as Burger Prince (Burger King), Olde Knavery (Old Navy), Saxon Fifth Avenue (Saks Fifth Avenue), Romeo Drive (Rodeo Drive), Versarchery (Versace), Gap Queen (Gap Kids), Farbucks Coffee (Starbucks), and Tower of London Records (Tower Records). That is part of "Shrek 2's" problem, its background and popular movie references are more funny than its half-baked, hackneyed plot. Ironically, "Shrek 2" comes at a time when Americans are being chided about the dangers of obesity. As ogres, Shrek and Fiona both are plug-ugly and obese. Interestingly, when they change shapes and emerge as attractive, they sacrifice what little personality that their physical afflictions gave them. I loved the original "Shrek," and I watched again it before I saw "Shrek 2." Anybody who says "Shrek 2" tops "Shrek" must have seen an altogether different movie. In the end, however, "Shrek 2" reminds us that only real ogres have curves!