No Spectacle here

Rating: 3/10 (4 January 2008)

If you're expecting to see a richly stylish, surrealistically Gothic, uniquely artistic imagery and sets that distinguishes Tim Burton think again. There is about two minutes of such imagery and besides that the majority of the movie is gray, bland, lifeless, shot primarily in one room and uninteresting to look at. Not the Tim Burton spectacle you would expect.
For a very simple plot line the story still managed to be chaotic without a flow or structure. . Despite the erratic way the story was told it moved at a snails pace due to drawn out musical numbers. You may zone out as you mindlessly stare at the drawn-out singing that fails to thrust the story forward. The music is classic but subjectively enjoyable. It may appear to some, to be water-down, overly dramatic, and drawn out. Most of the movie is singing.
Kudos goes to the costumes, makeup and casting (Todd Sweeney's girlfriend, his daughter, and her young suitor) which brought some of Burton's unique artistry to being.