Into the Woods

Tonight I saw Into the Woods, starring Emily Blunt and James Corden.

The famous Sondheim musical is translated to the big screen here under the direction of Chicago's Rob Marshall.

Along this journey of fractured fairy tales we meet Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) and [The Big Bad] Wolf (Johnny Depp), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone) and his mother (Tracey Ullman), Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), a baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt), as well as an evil witch (Meryl Streep) along with a whole host of familiar supporting characters.

When we arrive, the witch has promised to remove the spell of infertility she cast upon the baker and his wife if they bring her four specific items: Little Red Riding Hood's cape; hair like a cornstalk; Cinderella's shoe and a white cow.

The couple desperately seeks to gather the items and while they search, we see the characters play out the narratives we all know from childhood.

At heart, this is a comedic slant on all of the most famous stories, brought to life by some of the most recognizable faces in show business.

Though Meryl Streep is getting all of the press, I was actually most taken with Emily Blunt's performance. Who knew she had such a gorgeous singing voice? When did she become just as great at comedy as she's always been at drama? Here, she absolutely shines.

James Corden makes a lovely complement to Blunt's sincere performance as well. You can't help but sympathize with his ridden-with-guilt face and root for him, despite his weaknesses.

The children are more precocious than cute, but perhaps that was intentional, and Tracey Ullman and Johnny Depp were sorely underused. Depp's howl at the moon was a nice touch, though.

Kids may squirm through the singing, and adults like me will be ready for it to end long before its finale, but there are worse ways you could spend your time.

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