Please pass (by) the Cheese

I cannot help being a purist. When a truly terrific piece of literature is made into a movie, I attend expecting the words to have found a visual venue; an exact copy. I understand cutting scenes due to time. I even understand creative interpretation, but to totally change the book leaves me....annoyed and disappointed.

I must confess to my love of Cinderella stories. I think it is because I relate so well to them (one evil stepfather was my step-nightmare). I collect them; the Persian one being my favorite. Their stories surpass time and culture.

Ella Enchanted is the perfect version.

As I stated previously, I stayed awake until 2 A.M. in a cold bathroom to finish this tale that so captured my imagination. It was not until the last chapter that I realized it was a Cinderella chronicle. That's how incredibly creative Ms. Levine is. Ella is witty and intelligent. She is unpretentious and funny (self-depreciating humor always makes me laugh). Mandy (her godmother and house fairy) doesn't just stand by when Ella is given a humiliating command. She doesn't undo it; just redirects. Ella is frustrated by her father, but doesn't hate him. Lucinda is a benign, though idiotic, fairy who learns first hand the havoc her "blessings" cause. I love that Ella's wit and Char's strength free them from the Ogres. Time and again their personalities compliment one another. Yet, in the name of true love, Ella refuses Char in order to save not only him, but the kingdom of which she is so fond.

So, when I went to the movie last Friday, I had high hopes. Here was an opportunity to make a wonderful book into a wonderful movie; a movie from which young ladies could take inspiration and be entertained. While Anne Hathaway did make a fine Ella, the lines were poorly written and cliches were, well, things we had all heard somewhere before. This was to be a place we had never been but all recognized; not from cheesy lines, but from the universal struggle that all young women endure to know themselves, their fate; overcoming their greatest personal obstacles to get there. It once again became all about the girl getting the guy. That may be what sells but not to the women of this house.