 February
2007
This month's reviews/features:
Charlotte’s Web
Some Spider!
A local reviewer gave Charlotte’s Web three stars and said that
the movie, while good, “isn’t as good as E.B. White’s book, but then
again, how could it be?” I read the book to my kids when they were
young; we were all entranced by it, and the reviewer’s statement may
be true as far as it goes. Can a movie ever be as good as the book
it’s made from? Or is this an apples-to-oranges comparison? At any
rate, Charlotte’s Web is well done, touching, and certainly
consistent with Christian values.
In case you’re not familiar with the story, here’s a thumbnail
sketch: A young girl named Fern lives on a farm and is present when
the mother pig gives birth to a slew of piglets. Fern’s father wants
to “do away with” the runt of the litter, saying he simply won’t be
able to survive. Fern is horrified and insists that the piglet, whom
she names Wilbur, be given a chance to live. After much coaxing,
Fern convinces her father; she nurses Wilbur to health by feeding
him herself. Before long Wilbur is thriving, but then a new
eventuality rears its ugly head: Wilbur is destined for the
Christmas dinner table. What to do? Fern is at a loss.
Enter Charlotte … full name Charlotte A. Cavatica, a gray spider
who lives in the barn and befriends Wilbur. Charlotte has ideas –
good ones. After carefully thinking through the situation, she
performs her first masterstroke: the spinning of a web that says
SOME PIG. People soon come from far and wide to see this minor
miracle. The trouble is, Fern’s father takes a lot of convincing,
and Charlotte has to perform several more “everyday miracles” to
keep Wilbur alive past Christmas.
Charlotte’s Web, which by the way is rated G (a rarity these
days), is one of the sweetest movies in a long time. It’s a tale of
loving your neighbor, being there for your friends, and making
sacrifices, and the chances are good that it will jerk some tears
out of you. The computer-generated special effects are fine, and
it’s really fun to try to match the voices of several prominent
actors — Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, Kathy Bates, John Cleese,
Reba McEntire, Steve Buscemi — to the animal characters they
portray. I won’t tell you who plays Charlotte; that’ll be up to you
to figure out. I have only one quibble, and that’s the character of
Fern, played by Dakota Fanning. For my money, she comes off as too
much in control, not respectful enough of her parents. That’s a
minor flaw, though. Go and see this movie, and take your whole
family.
Ratings: 3 ¼
stars
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Index of movie
reviews...
(2003 reviews through present)
Jay Maurer, a member of West Side Presbyterian Church, is
a long-term movie buff and former college teacher of The Film as
Literature. He has written movie reviews for The Good News
(West Side newsletter) since 2002.
If you have comments or questions
about the movie (or play) reviews, please contact Jay at
dramachap@msn.com.
Ratings are expressed in
increments of ¼ star.
A rating of 2 ½ stars or higher is meant to be a recommendation.
1 star: poor
2 stars: minimally satisfactory
3 stars: quite good
4 stars: superb
Criteria for determining the ratings:
- Reflection, either explicit or implicit, of Christian values,
including suitability of language and lack of gratuitous violence
- Quality of the acting
- Originality
- Unity of the entire picture
- Substance, or in the words of C.S. Lewis, weight
Other Christian movie review Web sites:
Plugged In Online
ChristianityTodayMovies.com
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