Talking Pictures

Rich Bonaduce reviews “Gnomeo and Juliet”

Rich’s Quickie: Poli-Sci for kids.

Gno Way! A re-telling of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” as seen though the eyes of competing garden Gnome families (imagine hearing THAT in a pitch meeting), “Gnomeo and Juliet” instead plays out as not-so subtle political message for the young ones.
The Blues don’t talk to the Reds and neither do the Reds bother with the Blues, except to mess with them. The Reds seem to be perennially on the attack (even dastardly cheating in a lawn mower drag race), and the Blues are always on the defensive. But their endless bickering threatens the condition of both their gardens, as well as the possible relationship between our two star-crossed lovers. This metaphor goes so far as to show an explosion looking much like a mushroom cloud when one of the opposing lawn mowers explodes during a raid on the others’ garden. But at least everything ends up okay, as Gnomeo and Juliet ride off into the sunset on a purple lawn mower.
Further, when not overtly political, the movie makes use of referential humor to other movies kids probably haven’t – and maybe shouldn’t – have seen; “American Beauty” and “Brokeback Mountain” among them. The audience I attended this screening with was fairly quiet throughout (although they were also pretty quiet during the previews of “Mars Needs Moms” and “Cars 2,” so maybe they just weren’t in the mood).
The best part of this movie is an online advertisement for a supped-up lawn mower that I so obviously funny (apparently even to the filmmakers) that they show it twice.

Way. This is all set to the music of Elton John, and mostly – thankfully –his older, classic stuff (although the viewer is subjected to a few throwaway new tunes). But even there, decisions are confusing; the opening lawn-mower drag race sequence is set to a thankfully un-updated “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, while the words to “Crocodile Rock” are puzzlingly changed. Some songs made sense in their placement, others less so. At least Exec Producer John knew enough to leave out the lyrics to “The Bitch Is Back” when using it in a kid’s film.
Finally, as far as voice work is concerned (and although I love Emily Blunt), her choice as Juliet and James McAvoy as Gnomeo is as much of a head-scratcher as anything else; their voices are still too unknown to memorable. And is it just me, or does Michael Caine sound positively BORED whenever he does voice work? At least Patrick Stewart is perfectly cast as Shakespeare; although he has the thankless task of defending the very movie he’s in as something worthy of Shakespeare. And nothing is worse than a movie that thinks it’s welcome enough to exit with a Bollywood ending, complete with the aforementioned politically correct purple lawn mower chariot.
Gno kidding.

Rich’s Movie Grade: D+

Directed by: Kelly Asbury

Written by: Kelly Asbury, Mark Burton, Kevin Cecil, Emily Cook, Kathy Greenberg, Andy Riley, and Steve Hamilton Shaw (screenplay); based on an original screenplay by Rob Sprackling and John R. Smith.

And some William Shakespeare guy who apparently wrote the original play.

Tags: gnomeo and juliet, Rich Bonaduce reviews, talking pictures
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