The first review of the new Annie film is out and it calls the movie a "toxic mess". Is anyone really surprised? Taking a story set in a 1930's milieu and putting instead into a 21st century, all black cast is really not a great idea. Whoever at Sony thought this was worth doing is probably now working on his or her next project, the all Chinese remake of Fiddler on the Roof set in contemporary Hong Kong.
It is not easy to update a musical even if you don't change it. Look at the disaster that was NBC's latest version of Peter Pan. I have fond memories of watching Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook when I a kid. As a result, I tuned in to see the classic story. I couldn't make if past five minutes of watching. The casting of Allison Williams as Peter was so sad. She smiled nicely, but she certainly could not sing well. About an hour after switching away, I decide to try once again. This time, I saw Christopher Walken's interpretation of Captain Hook. I could even last five minutes on that one. Why did NBC cast Chritopher Walken in the part? Was Sylvester Stallone unavailable? Even beyond the casting, however, the musical was dated and the story even more dated.
In fairness, I have not seen Annie, so maybe it is not as bad as the review says. It may only be a mess without being toxic. Maybe, the version of the film seen by the reviewer was altered from the original when the North Koreans hacked into Sony in retaliation for the new film in which James Franco and Seth Rogan try to assassinate the leader of North Korea.
The truth is that I don't care why the film is so bad. I am not going to see it. I suggest you follow the same course.
It is not easy to update a musical even if you don't change it. Look at the disaster that was NBC's latest version of Peter Pan. I have fond memories of watching Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook when I a kid. As a result, I tuned in to see the classic story. I couldn't make if past five minutes of watching. The casting of Allison Williams as Peter was so sad. She smiled nicely, but she certainly could not sing well. About an hour after switching away, I decide to try once again. This time, I saw Christopher Walken's interpretation of Captain Hook. I could even last five minutes on that one. Why did NBC cast Chritopher Walken in the part? Was Sylvester Stallone unavailable? Even beyond the casting, however, the musical was dated and the story even more dated.
In fairness, I have not seen Annie, so maybe it is not as bad as the review says. It may only be a mess without being toxic. Maybe, the version of the film seen by the reviewer was altered from the original when the North Koreans hacked into Sony in retaliation for the new film in which James Franco and Seth Rogan try to assassinate the leader of North Korea.
The truth is that I don't care why the film is so bad. I am not going to see it. I suggest you follow the same course.
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