An Ethereal Girl

The one thing I love about the movies is how they can perk you right up when you’re feeling out of sorts.

This power couldn’t be better exemplified than in Enchanted, a movie about a beautiful fairy tale princess who re-writes her own story.

Enchanted is such a delight, really, thanks in no small part to its star, the perfectly cast, Academy Award-nominated Amy Adams (Junebug), who commits fully to charming our cynicism and sorrows away with a skilled portrayal of fancy, innocence, and vulnerability that is oh-so-sweet.

I’m sorry to say it, Keri Russell, but the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy is Adams’ to lose. (I mean, she deserves an award for this stunning entrance alone.)

Enchanted follows the tale of Giselle (Adams) as she is banished from her animated land of Andalasia to the gritty reality of modern-day Manhattan on her wedding day to Prince Edward (James Marsden) by his evil stepmother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon).

Our heroine thus finds herself adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of some enchantment, shocked by this strange new, loud environment that doesn’t operate on a happily-ever-after basis.

But then Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid – even though she’s already betrothed to her perfect prince back home.

And so Giselle cannot help but wonder: Can a storybook romance survive in the real world? Watch the movie and find out.

My Rating ***

Photo: Walt Disney Pictures.