KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * *
Cast: Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman
Director: Zach Helm
Running time: 94 mins Rating: G
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley
Verdict: A gorgeous idea and a wonderful cast, but this magical tale is overtaken by whimsy and falls flat.
You can't say
they didn't try, but while co-stars Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman deliver charming performances in this sweet family film, their on-screen chemistry isn't enough to fully bring this wonderfully titled film to life.
Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is just that, a unique and mysterious shop filled with toys that, if you believe in magic, come to life. The shop too is a living being that feeds off those who work and visit there.
The shop is owned by the eccentric 243-year-old Mr Magorium (Dustin Hoffman), an elderly Willy Wonka-type figure dressed in wacky striped suits with wild scientist hair, a friendly smile and a lisp. While having a great head for creativity and inventiveness, Mr Magorium has completely neglected the business side of his shop, so when he decides his time is up and that his manager and protege Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) should take over, he employs accountant Henry (Jason Bateman), to try to work out the state of the business.
The only problem is that Molly, a talented pianist, isn't ready to let her dear friend and employer Mr Magorium leave, nor does she have the self-confidence or will to take on the responsibility of running this magical shop on her own. With the help of Eric (Zach Mills), a young boy who practically lives at the shop, and Henry, who patiently puts up with being called The Mutant by his new work colleagues, Molly must find it within her to believe in both the shop, and herself.
Natalie Portman is charming, even though her character comes across as a little empty rather than at a crossroads in her life. She's a lovely mixture of Julia Roberts and Julie Andrews, and her warm rapport with Hoffman is a pleasure to watch, but it isn't enough to make us truly believe in this poetic story.
Nothing quite fits. There are some truly moving and tear-jerking moments in this film about death, friendship and making the most of life, and yet overall it seems to lack a dramatic punch. At times Mr Magorium's toy shop looks like a place full of magic, creativity and possibility, and at other times it looks like a cheap set that fails to convince us it's alive. Director/screenwriter Zach Helm (who wrote Stranger Than Fiction and obviously has a thing for accountants) has Mr Magorium imparting cliche-sounding worldly pieces of wisdom, and yet it's the interaction between the more ordinary characters that provide the subtle, truthful moments in the story.
With this talented cast and quirky idea, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is the kind of film you just want to fall in love with, but, overrun with whimsy, it neglects to give us what it promises most, wonder and magic.