Martin Short faces more problems than he can shake his wand at as Murray the Fairy Godmother in "A Simple Wish".
A serviceable family fantasy, this Bubble Factory presentation throws in enough whimsical touches to make up for uninspired plotting, but it's unlikely that its boxoffice wishes will be granted given other higher-profile options. Long-term prospects, however, look brighter once the picture visits the land of video.
When young New Yorker Anabel Greening (Mara Wilson) wishes that her widowed actor father (Robert Pastorelli) nab the lead role in a Broadway musical so the family won't have to pack up and move to Nebraska, she learns a valuable lesson in being careful about what one wishes for.
With an annual meeting of the North American Fairy Godmothers Assn. in progress, Anabel has to settle for the less-than-guaranteed services of Murray, not one of the most glowing examples of the powers of affirmative action.
Among his well-intentioned misfires, Murray turns Anabel's dad into a Central Park statue, whisks the two of them off into the middle of nowhere and turns a belligerent hillbilly into a giant rabbi instead of the much tinier rabbit he had in mind.
Meanwhile, the evil Claudia (Kathleen Turner), an excommunicated fairy godmother, crashes the meeting and makes off with a trunkful of magic wands in her pursuit of world domination. She's accompanied by her faithful minion Boots (a delightful Amanda Plummer), who's just a flea removed from her previous canine existence.
For the most part, the acting ensemble does sturdy work. Wilson once again conveys her role with a refreshingly unmannered honesty and sweetness, while Short, when not giving into a weakness for mugging, has his moments as the blundering Murray. Turner's Claudia, meanwhile, could have benefited from something a little more over the top instead of what is essentially a toss-away performance.
The rest of the cast, including Pastorelli, Francis Capra as Wilson's pesky Big Brother, Ruby Dee as the doyenne of fairy godmothers and Teri Garr as their prim receptionist, do fine work.
Director Michael Ritchie is no stranger to the family genre, having hit a home run with "The Bad News Bears". Here, he demonstrates a light, engaging touch, particularly with an Andrew Lloyd Webber parody of a musical version of "A Tale of Two Cities", but he's limited by Jeff Rothberg's fairly static script, which fails to capitalize on the possibilities posed by a building full of fairy godmothers, among other promising set-ups.
Technically, what the special effects may lack in scope they make up for in imagination and some colorful 3-D computer animation, overseen by visual effects producer Tim Healey.
A SIMPLE WISH
Universal Pictures
Director Michael Ritchie
Screenwriter Jeff Rothberg
Producers Sid, Bill and Jon Sheinberg
Director of photography Ralf Bode
Production designer Stephen Hendrickson
Editor William Scharf
Costume designer Luke Reichle
Music Bruce Broughton
Casting Rick Pagano
Color/stereo
Cast:
Murray Martin Short
Claudia Kathleen Turner
Anabel Mara Wilson
Oliver Robert Pastorelli
Boots Amanda Plummer
Charlie Francis Capra
Hortense Ruby Dee
Rena Teri Garr
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
A serviceable family fantasy, this Bubble Factory presentation throws in enough whimsical touches to make up for uninspired plotting, but it's unlikely that its boxoffice wishes will be granted given other higher-profile options. Long-term prospects, however, look brighter once the picture visits the land of video.
When young New Yorker Anabel Greening (Mara Wilson) wishes that her widowed actor father (Robert Pastorelli) nab the lead role in a Broadway musical so the family won't have to pack up and move to Nebraska, she learns a valuable lesson in being careful about what one wishes for.
With an annual meeting of the North American Fairy Godmothers Assn. in progress, Anabel has to settle for the less-than-guaranteed services of Murray, not one of the most glowing examples of the powers of affirmative action.
Among his well-intentioned misfires, Murray turns Anabel's dad into a Central Park statue, whisks the two of them off into the middle of nowhere and turns a belligerent hillbilly into a giant rabbi instead of the much tinier rabbit he had in mind.
Meanwhile, the evil Claudia (Kathleen Turner), an excommunicated fairy godmother, crashes the meeting and makes off with a trunkful of magic wands in her pursuit of world domination. She's accompanied by her faithful minion Boots (a delightful Amanda Plummer), who's just a flea removed from her previous canine existence.
For the most part, the acting ensemble does sturdy work. Wilson once again conveys her role with a refreshingly unmannered honesty and sweetness, while Short, when not giving into a weakness for mugging, has his moments as the blundering Murray. Turner's Claudia, meanwhile, could have benefited from something a little more over the top instead of what is essentially a toss-away performance.
The rest of the cast, including Pastorelli, Francis Capra as Wilson's pesky Big Brother, Ruby Dee as the doyenne of fairy godmothers and Teri Garr as their prim receptionist, do fine work.
Director Michael Ritchie is no stranger to the family genre, having hit a home run with "The Bad News Bears". Here, he demonstrates a light, engaging touch, particularly with an Andrew Lloyd Webber parody of a musical version of "A Tale of Two Cities", but he's limited by Jeff Rothberg's fairly static script, which fails to capitalize on the possibilities posed by a building full of fairy godmothers, among other promising set-ups.
Technically, what the special effects may lack in scope they make up for in imagination and some colorful 3-D computer animation, overseen by visual effects producer Tim Healey.
A SIMPLE WISH
Universal Pictures
Director Michael Ritchie
Screenwriter Jeff Rothberg
Producers Sid, Bill and Jon Sheinberg
Director of photography Ralf Bode
Production designer Stephen Hendrickson
Editor William Scharf
Costume designer Luke Reichle
Music Bruce Broughton
Casting Rick Pagano
Color/stereo
Cast:
Murray Martin Short
Claudia Kathleen Turner
Anabel Mara Wilson
Oliver Robert Pastorelli
Boots Amanda Plummer
Charlie Francis Capra
Hortense Ruby Dee
Rena Teri Garr
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
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