Everyone's favorite ogre smashed into theaters as "Shrek the Third" debuted across the nation on Friday. The latest (and if we're lucky, last) installment of the series features all your favorite personalities from the last two flicks, with the addition of some colorful new characters. Once again, they embark on a great, not-so-graceful adventure amidst flurries of cleverly placed satire and over-the-top accents.
Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui, "Shrek 2" is a comedic experience that the whole family can enj ... wait ... which film was it? Three? Right. Sorry. It's so hard to tell the difference. Anyway, it's another entertaining romp through the same dialogue and same clever comedy that we've come to expect from the series.
Emphasis here is on the word "same." In almost every respect, this film is identical to its predecessors. Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) struggle against a disillusioned Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) as he terrorizes the kingdom of Far Far Away and struggles to claim it as his own. Shrek must once again recruit the aid of Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) to journey to a distant land in order to save his home. Along the way, he meets an insane magician, a giggly band of Valley girl cheerleaders and a social outcast high schooler (ironically voiced by Justin Timberlake) from whose struggle for self-respect we learn all kinds of valuable moral lessons. Miller and Hui did their best to bring "sexy back" with these new additions, but when you rely on the same formula with minimal innovation to crank out another cash cow at the box office, well ... "what goes around comes around."
Admittedly, the three- to five-year olds for whom this movie is largely intended could care less about innovation. But the strength of the "Shrek" series has always been its appeal to old and young alike, and I simply can't see adults being entertained by this blatant rehash unless they compare this film-going experience to something phenomenally banal, like watching their child gurgle.
But even with its younger audience, "Shrek the Third" falters. The incessantly crying baby in the theater seat behind me was a constant reminder: There were a lot of very, very small children attending this film. Parents apparently trust the filmmakers to provide them with an acceptably wholesome experience, but Miller and Hui seriously dropped the ball.
Cartoony violence of the unrealistic and light-hearted sort was included in the previous two films, but this time it went a step too far. At one point, Prince Charming systematically stabs actors dressed up in Shrek-like costumes as he rehearses for a theater performance. He slices one's abdomen, sending him lifeless to the ground, and another is prodded into place with a pike for the next rehearsal.
Later, in a pointless attempt at humor completely unrelated to the plot, the disturbed magician Merlin whips out a bowl of cereal made of rocks that he claims to have invented. He pops a spoonful into this mouth, chews vigorously, and parts his lips to reveal a gruesomely bloodied smile. Funny? No. Necessary? Not in the slightest. Appropriate for four-year olds? Not if you expect to say the words "Rice Krispies" again without them fleeing the room.
That said, the film at least has the potential to be imaginative. As Prince Charming searches for help in his war with Far Far Away, he wanders into a bar inhabited by the "losers" of other fairy tales. He's greeted by a malevolent gang including Captain Hook, the Wicked Witch of the West, and "the ugly sister" from Cinderella who now serves as the tavern's disillusioned barmaid. Charming manages to earn the loyalty of the crowd with a long and emotional speech about villain disenfranchisement, but cheers of excitement quickly lead to thrown punches as the crowd turns on itself in a light-hearted bar fight. Watching every villain of fairy tale fame duke it out as a smug Prince Charming looks on, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, this film would turn out to be a fresh, fun, plot-driven work on the level of the first Shrek movie.
It didn't. "Shrek the Third" misses both of its target audiences. Young kids who fell for the lovable ogre in the last two films will not enjoy the unnecessary violence and hard-to-follow plot -- if its discordant collage of unrelated wisecracks can really be called a "plot." Adults, though they may chuckle at the occasional pun, probably won't find much to love here either.
If you enjoy slapstick comedy supported by an incoherent story, and if you can stomach dozens of terrible jokes to experience the occasional inspired moment, this movie may be worth your money. Alternatively, if you are truly annoyed by Justin Timberlake's new image, it may merit a trip to the theater simply to see the boy-band-heartthrob-turned-tough guy-turned-voice actor make a fool of himself. Otherwise, just dig out that "Shrek 2" DVD and have another go. It's essentially the same experience, and that one won't scar droves of children.
