Hello people on the internet who also enjoy movies! I’m TheCinemaChick and I watch more movies than the average citizen. I’m getting incredibly behind with my reviews because…well, I’m lazy, I have a lot on my mind and I have gotten some incredibly exciting news. If and when that news is posted on a blog I follow, I will repost it here and share with everyone.
Last week, I watched The Rise of the Planet of the Apes with Butterfly, then a few hours later, Fry and I went to see the Smurfs. Laugh if you want, but I actually liked it. For me, it was about a nostalgic trip to my childhood. It made me think of the days I was sick and had to stay home from school. My mom would set me up on the couch with my favorite blanket, some pillows, and old school cartoons to lull me to sleep. I remember The Smurfs getting into trouble and how they had such horrible names. Think about it, how did they get named? How did Papa Smurf become Papa Smurf? For that matter…here’s a few Smurfs I bet you’ve never even heard of:
- Wooly (he wears wool)
- Lumberjack (he wears flannel)
- Pretentious
- Wild
- Nurse
- Pastrycook
- Flighty
- Panicky
Now, the movie wasn’t exactly aimed at children. I know it was marketed as a kids movie, but I don’t think some of the humor in it was meant for them. If you’re wondering about the plot, well, the previews pretty much give it away. Gargamel discovers their village so they run away and get sucked through a portal into our world. They cross paths with Patrick and Grace, who help them make a spell to reopen the portal so the little blue…uh…people…can get home. That’s pretty much everything. The rest of the movie is full of Smurf antics, stupid humor and plot holes.
What bothered me the most was that you don’t really get to know anything about the Smurfs. We get to spend about ten minutes in the village with all of them, but once they get to New York
And while it was an amusing movie, it was really pointless. It’s a story I’ve seen a hundred times before. They’re lost, need to go back home, there’s an obstacle which is overcome and everyone lives happily ever after. Been there, seen it.
I’m more interested in how the Smurfs came to be. What brought them into existence? Give me their history (and don’t tell me to read the books. That’s just too logical.) and maybe show us how Smurfette was created. Show me some of that. Also, how the hell did Papa Smurf have so many sons? In the movie, they do make fun of the whole “there’s 100 Smurfs in the village and one girl…is the weird?” But, Papa calls all of them his sons. So…are the asexual or what? I actually did internet research on how Smurfs reproduce. And before you say it, yes I am a total nerd for looking into that but come on, who isn’t curious about that? Surely I’m not the only one thinking about this weird concept.
As far as the voice acting goes, I liked it. However, I’m not a fan of Katy Perry so I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when I heard she was playing the only female Smurf. There is even a lame reference to her first hit single, “I kissed a girl”. Only, in this movie its “I kissed a Smurf and I liked it.”
Could it have been something better? Yes.
For what it was, was it worth it? Eh…sure.
If you do decide to go see The Smurfs, wait for the dollar theater. I paid about nine bucks for my ticket (I also went to one of those theaters that serves a full meal instead of just snacks) and I liked the fried pickles I had over the movie. Granted, The Smurfs is cute and it’s good if you want a light hearted romp for two hours to take your mind off things. It has moments where it’s overly sweet but there are some moments where I did genuinely laugh. I’m not talking about the half hearted chuckles I had in Bad Teacher, but actual laughter. I will admit though, Fry kept me laughing for days with one of her comments but it would be hard to explain.
Neil Patrick Harris was great as always and I really respect Hank Azaria. He really pulls Gargamel off and pretty much becomes the character. Go see it for those two actors alone.
One last thing. If you hate that annoying tune they keep singing and you know the one I’m talking about, avoid the movie. It keeps popping up throughout and it’s so irritating because it’s so repetitive. I couldn’t stand it after two hours. To make it worse, Fry started humming it! I do think she was trying to keep herself from laughing because at this point, I’d spilled an entire cup of soda in my lap and had to walk through the theater with a huge wet patch on my jeans. Good thing we had that popcorn bucket for me to strategically hold.
So there you have. The Smurfs is a mind numbing childhood throwback, but it’s cute. Because it does make me think of being a kid again, I enjoyed it. I do like the idea of putting someone in an environment they’ve never been in before and seeing what happens. Plus, Gargamel gets into some pretty hilarious situations that are funny to watch. I still stand by my statement of waiting to see this at a dollar theater. If you really want to, go ahead and swing a matinee.
Well, there you have it. Soon, I will team up with Kit Kat and work on the last three parts in the Twilight Rant. Fry and I are going to see Fright Night later this week and I finally rented a copy of Donnie Darko.
All this and more in my next blog!
…I’ll never do that again. I promise. That just seemed nerdy, even to me.
I’m TheCinemaChick and on behalf of my movie watching crew, I bid you a pleasant theater experience.
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