ANNIE Review

To set the stage: I've never seen any version of Annie other than the one I'm about to discuss here. I don't know that I would consider it essential viewing and by some off chance I never saw or read the stage play going through the public school system. Sure, I know a few of the famous songs that were spawned from the original production and I know the basic premise of what is going on, but anything more than that consider me in the dark. Having said that, I feel I can safely assume this latest version is a far cry from what the original had to offer, but that isn't the reason this modern day take on the story doesn't work. I was always somewhat hesitant to even be interested in the film as I am clearly not the target audience, but when the first trailer premiered I admit I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of careless fun that seemed to be brightly packaged with the pure pop confection giving the impression it would likely be a big holiday hit with the kiddos. These positive vibes were only reinforced when, upon doing a little further reading, I found out that Will Gluck would be at the helm of the project. Gluck, who has made three solid comedies since 2009 seems to direct what most have so much trouble doing with ease. There is a simplicity to his comedy that oozes naturally out of the characters he has at play and his pacing always compliments the rapid dialogue at which it is exchanged and thus at which the plot is advanced. Easy A is easily one of my favorite comedies of the last ten years as I've watched it more times than I can count and maybe one of the great high school comedies of all time. Needless to say, despite not being familiar with the material and despite knowing this wasn't going to be for me I was still excited to see Gluck work in a slightly different genre as well as what he might have to offer in terms of crafting a children's film that was both highly entertaining and insightful given the obvious emotion at the core of the given story. Unfortunately, this new Annie is anything but fun as it loses its energy and momentum soon after the opening number and is never able to regain that feeling for the remainder of the nearly two hour run time.

First Trailer for ANNIE

I've never been familiar with the story of Annie and have never seen any version of the stage play nor the 1982 film that I assume most would look toward as a point of reference, but it is hard to ignore the noise this one is making. I appreciate Will and Jada Smith as well as Jay-Z (we've always known he had an affinity for the musical) want to give young Quvenzhané Wallis a real shot at this movie star thing and not make her simply a flash in the pan that became the youngest Oscar nominated actress ever only to go on to not find her real acting chops until her mid-20's. I get it and I can appreciate that and the fact all of their friends like Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz were willing to jump in and help establish the young girls name by playing roles in a re-make that maybe don't suit their personas, but their names fill the bill and will no doubt have families butts in the seats come Christmas 2014 and this is the obvious choice because nothing screams the holiday season like a musical. The big question hanging over this one though is will anyone really care about it in the film community? No, is the definitive answer to that question and it is clear the film has not been made for the purposes of higher art, but simply to exist as a fun piece of entertainment that will keep kids occupied and their parents up to date on the latest trends as they can see what has been updated from the version they know and how the modernization makes this feel all the cooler to their kids, but will no doubt be just as dated as the previous versions in less time. I hold no prejudice against this new or any version of Annie, but that is only because I'm not familiar with them and so I will see this new adaptation because I enjoy the people partaking and director Will Gluck is a reliable source for solid comedy and so I hold nothing but optimism for this project, albeit cautious. Annie also stars Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas and opens on December 19th.