Don’t go ‘Into the Woods’

Two musicals in two weeks? What is Hollywood trying to do to American film audiences? Culture us? Bah humbug!

I’m actually a big fan of musicals, but on the live stage where they belong. Only a small handful of popular stage musicals have successfully made the transition to film, and after the recent bunch in 2014, including the boring “Jersey Boys” and the terribly reimagined “Annie,” perhaps Hollywood should think twice about making any more. Does “Into the Woods” change this reviewer’s mind? Hardly.

I’ve never seen the original Stephen Sondheim stage version of “Into the Woods,” so I went into the movie with a clean slate. The film intertwines the characters of four classic fairy tales – Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, with a married couple having to collect an item from each of them as they all enter the mysterious woods to lift a family curse preventing them from having children. The couple succeed, and all four fairy tales also conclude in the manner audiences are familiar with. But then the film takes a dark turn, exposing what happens to these characters after the “happily ever after.” I initially enjoyed this twist, but quickly lost interest when characters started making out-of-the-blue, puzzling decisions without any set up. Their choices completely took me out of the movie. And for a family film, there are some very dark moments. Eyes get gouged out, appendages get sliced off, and characters mysteriously die (although off camera).

Also, be prepared for a lot of singing. A LOT. It’s a musical after all. And most of the cast perform quite adeptly in their roles with Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep all displaying impressive voices. Even Johnny Depp makes quite a mark as the Wolf, but he’s just onscreen for about five minutes. But you probably won’t walk out of the theater humming any particular tune. The big numbers really aren’t that memorable, other than the opening title song. And I really didn’t understand why some characters sung/spoke in British accents, with Jack having an especially noticeable cockney accent, while others sung/spoke in clear American accents.

There were just too many strange things going on in the film, so I couldn’t get into it, and as a result, it felt bloated and overly long. In order for a musical to keep your attention, the story and songs have to mesh beautifully, but “Into the Woods” didn’t do that for me.