**original release: 3/30/2012**
This Summer, we saw Kristen Stewart taking on the evil queen in this season's surprise sensation "Snow White & The Huntsman". So, I figured, now that's it's on video, I would revisit the first Snow White film this year.
While also a re-imagining of the classic Grimm tale, "Mirror Mirror" puts a bizarre comedy spin on the Snow White legend in order to stand alone from the others. While it was a valiant effort, this Snow White tale looks more like the poison apple.
After taking over the land once the king disappears, The Queen (Julia Roberts) rules the kingdom and the land falls into a permanent Winter. While fighting off the inevitable effects of aging and dealing with a financial crisis, The Queen thinks that marrying a younger rich man will help her image with her constituents. And she finds that in Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer), even though he has no interest in her whatsoever. Meanwhile, Snow White (Lily Collins) manages to escape the walls of the castle, winds up in the woods, and runs into the dwarves who give her the strength and confidence to take on the Queen's forces. Oh yeah, and she falls in love with Prince Alcott. I would have said "Spoiler Alert", but, if you didn't figure that would happen, you need to read more.
Director Tarsem Singh ("The Fall", "The Cell") and writers Jason Keller ("Machine Gun Preacher"), Marc Klein ("Serendipity"), and Melisa Wallack (the dark and sublimely funny "Meet Bill") show that conflicting movie styles can screw up a movie. The visual styles of Singh are wonderful here, but the script is a convoluted mess. Keller being an action/drama writer, Klein a romantic comedy writer, and Wallack being a dark comedy writer, making a family film didn't seem like it would something they could all collaborate on. After seeing the film, it turns out they really couldn't in any kind of competent manner.
The cast is mediocre at best. Lily Collins is the only wonderful cast member here. Julia Roberts is annoying at best when she's trying this hard to be funny. Armie Hammer was bland and somewhat useless. The worst offender? Nathan Lane as The Queen's hapless assistant Brighton. He's imbecilic and unfunny throughout the entire movie, and, at 106 minutes, shouldn't have felt this long.
"Mirror Mirror", aside from some fairly interesting comedic action sequences, only has about a half-hour's worth of true entertainment. And trust me, that's being generous. Not only that, but it's sadly inconsistent. One minute, Snow White is showing that she can stand on her own and be brave (and often fairly kick-ass), but the next she's a starry-eyed, boy-crazy princess. It's really sad when Kristen Stewart can play the part better. In anything.
MY TWO CENTS: If you're looking for a great Snow White movie, "Mirror Mirror" is not what you're looking for. While "Snow White & The Huntsman" is still playing in some theaters currently, it'll be on video before you know it, and then you can enjoy it at home. For now, "Mirror Mirror" is a poor substitute for a good family film like "Brave" or a Snow White film like the one mentioned before. Let's hope they have better luck with the new Sleeping Beauty comedy coming out next year.
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