Disenchanted

I’m no big fan of the first. It’s cute, and Amy Adams has undeniable charm, enough to carry a mid movie into enjoyable. I don’t think it’s the subversive tweaking of fairy tale tropes its defenders does, but it has enough charm and humor for me to say it’s watchable. Disenchanted, however, cannot be saved. It is not horrible, don’t get me wrong. Many of the original’s elements are there: the silly whimsy, the charm, Amy Adams doing a Herculean job. But what isn’t there is a story worth this long-gestating follow-up. With some very minor differences, this is basically Shrek Forever After; person finds out there ever-after isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, wishes for something else, finds out the grass isn’t greener, lesson learned, cue credits. It was lazy and lame when Shrek did it, and it’s not demonstrably better here. It’s not terrible … it’s just not necessary, and it never does anything fresh or interesting to justify existing, but it never does anything so bad as to make you mad. It just exists, limp and inert and uninterested in being anything but a cash-grab legacy sequel. For some, that’s all they need, and that’s fine. For me, not good enough.