My short review is…Into the Woods? More like Into the Exposition! Not Sondheim’s best musical given how every other song sounded like a recap of the plot.
For those not familiar with the original Broadway show from the late Eighties (me included), Sondheim took four well-known fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella) and tied them together into a giant ensemble story. The woods or nearby forest being the framing device for the characters to meet and interact, sometimes foiling or assisting each other. I’m puzzled as to why Disney produced this given their ABC show Once Upon a Time, numerous live-action reboots and vast library of cartoons.
Is it any good though? Despite the songs telegraphing or reiterating the point, Woods was until the drawn-out, tedious epilog which made what appeared to be a logical ending become a false ending. I’m not against the movie’s duration, it would’ve been wiser if the story were structured to make it feel like “…and then one last thing!”
There were great performances from Tracey Ullman, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, James Corden (from two episodes of the rebooted Doctor Who) Anna Kendrick and Emily Blunt. The biggest surprise was Chris Pine who I despise for playing the woodenest Captain Kirk. In Woods he channels his inner Brannigan/Shatner parody to play Prince Charming to the hilt in woo’ing Cinderella.
Overall, I can only recommend it for fans of Sondheim, musicals, those who already knew this musical and diehards of fairy tales. Everybody else, you’ve been warned and if you do watch it, I recommend pausing somewhere around 90-minute mark.
Alamo Extras: We arrived rather late so it was mostly cartoons and news clips showing two women with hair longer than their height.