awkward!

Rating: 6/10 (21 January 2008)

One thing's for sure: STARDUST is not your average, epic-fantasy, lord-of-the-rings rip off kind of movie. On the other hand, it is hard to categorize. While I wasn't overtly crazy about it, it's not a bad film, but the question still remains: was this a comedy? A parody of epic/fantasy films? IMDb description of the movie says "fantasy", while I might put "comedy" right next to it. I must say I did have a few good laughs, but I tried to make sense out of everything I was watching. It all evolves about a falling star who turns out to be a pretty girl/princess (Claire Danes). There's no explanation as to why she fell to earth, other than "the stars were aligned" and all that astrological mumbo-jumbo. On the other hand we have Tristan Thorn, the offspring of a normal peasant and a princess from another, alternate world. A lot of bits and pieces are left unexplained, and just when you feel an explanation is on your way, along comes a funny/campy moment. The alternate world thing could've been better developed me thinks, without sacrificing the comedic edge of the movie. The acting, in some parts, looks forced. It's very rare for me to spot a movie where I think the actor is just "acting", but STARDUST was the case. Michelle Pfifer was great, as well as Robert De Niro (so what's new?). And it was a real show stopper to see De Niro in a drag, dancing can can music in what is easily the movie's funniest moment, as well as the scene where a man's voice is turned into a parrot. I bent over laughing.
Still, for all the laughs, STARDUST played to me more like a spoof movie rather than something more epic. I guess the director and writer where aiming for something different in the fantasy genre, but it still looks half baked. I'm sure next time they'll get it right!