Synopsis: When a man tells a 6-year old the tooth fairy is not real he is punished by becoming the tooth fairy and having to save the tooth fairy kingdom.
Release Date: January 22, 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Children and Family, Comedy
Film Review
Production
As a paying audience member you should not have to wait an hour for a movie to get good; or decent, as is the case with this film. It is a bumpy ride of poorly placed jokes, subpar direction, and lackluster character development through the entire first and second acts. It finds its footing in act three but getting to this point is a yawn. Dwayne Johnson as Derek, aka The Tooth Fairy, tries to lay on the charm and supply humor to his predicament. He is after all a very large muscular man dressing up as a fairy – yes, many campy moments ensue from this alone – but even his sparkling smile and bumbling antics are no match for the absolute lack of, well, anything remotely substantial in the plot. There is a good moral buried deep down only making its appearance in the end, and by then it is a relief to see some good natured fun, character growth, and sentiment. This is a movie about believing in dreams. Reaching for what may seem to be unattainable. Perhaps it does just that in itself. One cannot imagine it could become something mediocre at best but it surprises you in the end. Alas, no matter how much it redeems itself it is still something that should be avoided. Unless of course you have a thing for men in fairy costumes.
Costumes
Seeing this films costumes is like walking down a suburban street on Halloween. You are surrounded by girls (and in the films case boys too) wearing polyester blend silk-like fairy costumes with fake wings. The fairy costuming may as well have been bought at the local costume shop. They look cheap, to be frank. As for the wings, the same. They have zero movement and just hang helplessly. The wings are more of an extension of the clothes than of the body. The white fur on the edges is something you can find on a shaggy dog stuffed animal. It looks very itchy and unattractive. There is a moment in the film where the Fairy Godmother (Julie Andrews) mentions how funding is low for fairy land. It must be true after seeing what these poor fairies are wearing.
Comedy Factor
A grown man wearing a pink tutu dress with fairy wings. Could be funny…but its not. The same man being shrunk down to six inches, crawling under a door with a rolled up dollar bill, while snarling at his companion. That part was pretty funny. It’s a hit or miss with this movie. One second you are laughing and the next 15 minutes you are grumbling to yourself as to why the humor has disappeared. Enter at your own risk here if looking for laughs.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Michael Lembeck
- Producer(s): Lowell GanzBabaloo MandelJoshua SterninJeffrey VentimiliaRandi Mayem Singer
- Screenwriter(s): Dwayne Johnson (Derek Thompson/Tooth Fairy)Julie Andrews (Lily)
- Story: Ashley Judd
- Cast: Billy Crystal David FinferDavid Tattersall
- Editor(s): Marcia Hinds
- Cinematographer: George S. Clinton
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By: CIS Vancouver
- Country Of Origin: USACanada