Corpse Bride
Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, Michael Gough
Directed by: Tim Burton
Rating: 2.9/4.0
This has been a relatively big weekend of movies for me. Last night was A History of Violence(violent action, violent coffee-serving, violent sex), Today was Corpse Bride and Serenity. And while I'm raring to go to get into Serenity, let's touch off on Corpse Bride.
First, let me offer up the disclaimer that I've enjoyed most of Burton's work since Bettle Juice in 1988. I thought, until Batman Begins, that Burton has done the only movies of the caped crusader worth seeing. Big Fish was probably the most touching films I've given as a gift. The Nightmare before Christmas was ghoulishly original and cute.
And maybe it's the precedents he has set with his previous movies that I sit at this one and think "Wow, that's really cool what all he's done with stop-motion. I can't imagine how long it took to do all the wind segments with her train and veil. That's a really cute character or three." But for some reason unbeknownst to me, I didn't walk out feeling like I watched a great or good movie. Just a good Tim Burton film.
Is that a bad thing? Not in the slightest. You should see the movie, and take a friend. It's cute, well-made, superb cast(the usual suspects for a Burton film), what I think lacked was the story.
The son of a noveau riche fish market man is set to marry the daughter of an 'old money' family(who are actually broke), but gets cold feet and runs off. Practicing his vows in the woods, he accidently marries a dead woman instead of the twig he thought he was practicing with.
Here is where I run into a plot hole like I did with Flightplan.
Corpse Bride: "I do!... you may kiss the bride!"
Victor Van Dort: "Oh, wait! Wait wait wait!"
Corpse Bride: "What is it?"
VVD: "Doesn't the vow say until death do us part?"
CB: "Well, uhm... yes."
VVD: "And you... are... dead...?"
CB: "...yes..."
VVD: (snatching ring) "seeya!" (tears off into horizon)
5 minute short is over, on with the feature presentation. I think I would have scored it have a point higher, had I turned my brain off for it. Overall, though, this is a cute little film for most ages, but I'd put this second billing to Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the were-rabbit(yet again, with Helena Bonham Carter).