Shallow and unsatisfying

Rating: 3/10 (11 July 2001)

I really can't understand why everyone rates this film so highly, I went to see it with two friends and we all agreed it was a huge disappointment. It could be argued that as 18 year olds we were not exactly the target audience, but I had been led to believe that this picture had universal appeal like the excellent Toy Story, and I really could'nt see any of this.
I think the major problem with this film is its attempt to be satirical of fairy-tales when it's own narrative is so flimsy and predictable. Whereas some amount of predictability should be expected, Shrek sticks like glue to its pre-defined genre expectations on more than one level. The setting of the story in a land of castles, talking animals, dragons etc is OK, but some other details I really had a problem with. The princess for example is all sweet and pretty and wholesome and then she burps. I got the feeling the audience were meant to laugh or maybe be surprised at this but how many movies/ TV shows have you seen where the woman shows some "girl power" and acts all crude/kicks male butt or whatever. I would either like to see this sort of charecter made impossible weak and pathetic or maybe a psychotic serial killer type, just burping does'nt cut it anymore. I don't know if the people who made Shrek thought they were being wildly original or not, but to me everything in this movie seemed to be stolen from somewhere else, and not in a satirical way either. The other characters are predictable too, the donkey (Eddie Murphy) is annoying, and Shrek (Myers) is slow and boring. Myers also does the Worst Scottish Accent Ever which also slips every couple of scenes. The best role in the film is the evil guy (Lithgow), for once the voiceover is of good quality and suited to the charecter. Its a pity he does'nt get more screen time because the gingerbread man torturing scene was the best in the film, itself far too short though. This is typical of the script's tendency to skip from one gag to the next without trying to take the joke futher or refer back to it to increase comic effect. The story itself is too frail and boring to make up for the cascade of weak, underdeveloped jokes. I had pretty high hopes for this movie, as i'm a big fan of Myers, unfortunately all the best jokes were in the trailer and if you've seen the trailer, you'll know thats not a good thing.