Grade: B
Rob Marshall’s film of Into the Woods is not on the same level as Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors or The Rocky Horror Picture Show (my three favorite movie musicals), but it’s a solid stage-to-screen project. It remains pretty faithful to the source material, while at the same time, due to a little bit of trimming here and there, is refreshingly efficient. I welcomed most of the cuts (I did not miss the Act One Finale or Act Two Opening), while lamenting the absence of some (The Agony Reprise would have been fun, and unfortunately, No More is no more). Anna Kendrick has a beautiful voice, and brought nice humanity to the role of Cinderella. Also effective were Tracey Ullman as Jack’s mother, James Corden and Emily Blunt as the baker and his wife, Johnny Depp as the wolf, Chris Pine as Cindy’s prince, and especially Meryl Streep as the witch. Last Midnight and Agony were my two favorite numbers, and employed the kind of inventiveness that you’d be hard-pressed to replicate on stage. ITW makes for a worthy introduction for those not familiar with the show, which isn’t always the case in movie musicals (the less said about The Fantasticks, the better). This is rated PG, but I’d recommend it only to the most thoughtful and patient children out there. This is a dark ride, and they do listen, after all.
Grade: B
Film Reviews by Mark 
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