Here's a movie I'd never heard of before, which is somewhat surprising, as it has several big stars in it (no pun intended, of course), like Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro. It was recommended to me by my friend Mandy. (Hi, Mandy!) Mandy and I tend to enjoy the same sorts of books, but this is the first of several movies she's suggested I watch, so I approached it with a bit of skepticism. I had the intention of formulating my opinion of Mandy's film recommendations based on this one.
I can officially assure you that Mandy has good taste in movies. This one was weirdness like Gormenghast wrapped up in a fairy tale like The Princess Bride (although I can't say it was quite as good as the latter, maybe only because--though it did have its moments of humor--it lacked what I insist on calling the comic genius of S. Morganstern). But it did have a great story and was fun to watch. I'm pretty sure my favorite character was Arthur Weasley as Billy the goat, although he was closely followed by Captain Shakespeare the Prissy Pirate.
As long as you can stand a bit of predictability (the ride is still fun even if you know what's coming) and a small number of ridiculously fortuitous events, you need to watch this movie. Just be glad you don't have to hear me or my husband shouting out our (annoyingly accurate) guesses as to what will happen next. And be glad you don't have to watch it with my cousin Lori who would make fun of you for using the word fortuitous.
