Stardust is a damn good movie. It may not look like a good movie, and it may not make good money at the box office but it’s good anyway. It could even be great, depending on your mood. This is a movie that deserves an audience — and if you give me a few minutes I’ll do my best to convert you. Don’t wait for the DVD and the cult fandom to start; get in on the ground floor.
The plot of Stardust is… well, actually that’s the problem right there. It’s almost pointless to try and explain because this is a film that throws in everything and the kitchen sink into the story. Start with the idea that Claire Danes is a star, fallen to Earth. Then wrap your head around a bunch of people seeking her out, all for different (and fantastical) reasons. Next throw in Michelle Pfeiffer as a witch and Bobby Deniro as a flying pirate ship captain. Boom! You’ve got your mix which in this case equals innovative entertainment.
The story is adapted from a Neil Gaiman work, I’ve lately come to find out that he has quite a following and he’s also scheduled to release a 3-D version of Beowulf. I knew none of this going in though, so I can’t speak to the adaptation success. I do think it would actually be better to not know the story beforehand, that way the twists and turns will feel fresh.
Bobby DeNiro is quite good here in an occasionally comedic role, that’s refreshing to see after something like Meet the Fockers where he does an impression of an idiot for 90 minutes. Pfeiffer isn’t anything special, but she’s good enough — man where the hell has she been the past five years? Now, pushing 50 she seems to be coming back with the surprise hit Hairspray and the hopefully classic Stardust. I say classic because this is a slow burn style of film that people will evangelize about, much like The Usual Suspects, so it will build an audience as time passes.
Look, I get it, this is not a known quantity and the trailers have been crap. But there is a good reason for this! The film is different, complex, nuanced, and atypical. So how exactly should they get across that it’s worth seeing? They can’t. So they’ve done a horrible voice over special and thrown in the fact that the critics have loved it (don’t worry though, this isn’t a “Critics Special,” it’s not Babel).
You should see it though. If we’ve proven to have the same tastes then invest the eight bucks. You will be entertained throughout and you haven’t seen anything quite like it in your movie going career. It’s Labyrinth meets When Harry Met Sally meets The Birdcage meets The Wizard of Oz. It’s a giant jumble of ideas, but in a good way. It’s going to end up in my top ten of the year, and I’m going to take family and friends to see it too. Meet me there.
