Shrek the Third
Can we please have a moratorium on the joke that when a very white guy (Robin Williams usually is the culprit) tries to talk Black that it is funny. Especially as a black woman!?!
Yes Mike Myers is back to reprise his role as the lovable green ogre, as well as Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews and Rupert Everett in Shrek The Third.
Okay, it's not exactly Shrek The Turd (which I was kinda hoping for so I could use that as a headline) but it's not that great either.
Shrek is basically an easy to watch, forgettable movie.
So what's going on in Far Far Awayland.
Well Fiona (who still resembles Oprah)'s father, the frog king croaks literally...sending Shrek, Puss and Donkey on a mission to find a new heir. Shrek, who is the next in line, doesn't want the gig.
Because as he has to remind everyone over and over - he's an ogre.
So the three set off on ship to find Fiona's cousin, Artie, who is actually the future King Arthur.
Meanwhile, Prince Charming, voiced by Rupert Everett, is relegated to playing Prince Charming in a bad dinner theater production of Rapunzel. I found that one of the more inspired jokes in the movie. Tired of his role, Charming convinces some of the worst villains to ever grace fairytaledom to help him overthrow the kingdom.
So they attack.
Oh yeah, meanwhle Fiona is pregnant, which of course bothers Shrek, not because he doesn't want them, he just fears he will be a bad dad.
Because he's an ogre.
As in Spideman-3 there are a lot of plots going on in Shrek The Third. But for some reason, it worked for me in Spider-man (oh yes it did, Marcellas!) and I just really didn't care here.
The problem is I think Shrek has lost his bite. He's kind of like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 4. I feel no threat from Shrek...which I feel is why he has to go around reminding everyone constantly that he's an ogre. Or perhaps when Mike Myers said it in the recording studio, everyone thought it was funny enough to keep repeating in the movie.
The animation is very good, but you would expect it to be. However most of the voices are pretty run-of-the-mill. Justin Timberlake as Artie is not too bad however. What really made the other two Shrek movies entertaining for me, was the poke at fairytales and pop culture. Now it's kind of all over the place...no focus.
Also what is up with the frogs singing, Live and Let Die, when the king dies? Did the producers have the rights to the song and just had to stick it somewhere.
Well, hey, Shrek will make tons of money for Dreamworks and McDonald's. And it is mercifully short at 92 minutes. So for that...
TWO BALL POINT PENS