Updated 'Annie' even adds cynicism to the mix
The retooled Broadway classic has been superficially updated, but not at all improved.
Quvenzhané Wallis is adorably plucky as the lead in Annie. She and Jamie Foxx as the newfangled Daddy Warbucks character have an appealing chemistry and their songs together are the best moments in the movie.
But the rest of Annie is banal, shallow and markedly cynical. (** out four; rated PG; opening Friday nationwide).
Annie is no longer an orphan, since orphanages are a thing of the past. She's a foster child whose parents gave her up when she was 4.
As in the original, she lives with the cranky Miss Hannigan
(Cameron Diaz),
but here Hannigan is a failed rocker embittered by her lack of stardom. She lives in Harlem and has taken in a half dozen girls as foster kids for the monthly government compensation. With her streaked blond
hair, she resembles a latter-day Debbie Harry, but Diaz's obnoxious scenery-chewing is wince-inducing, making the viewer long for Carol Burnett's hilariously boozy version in the 1982 movie.
When Annie skitters in the path of an oncoming car and is scooped up by New York City mayoral candidate and cellphone magnate Will Stacks (Foxx), the haphazard plot is set in motion.
He's a billionaire workaholic whose edges are softened by his interactions with the spunky Annie. He initially forges a bond with her in order to boost his image in political polls, as instructed by his scheming consultant (Bobby Cannavale). She makes for winning photo ops. But, it's Annie after all, so he can hardly fail to be won over by her lovably cheerful ways.
In recasting Annie as a political pawn, the unabashedly sentimental original has been replaced with a more cynical and materialistic reboot in a major tonal gaffe.
Foxx and Wallis are the only characters with any charm.
Signature tunes such as Tomorrow and It's a Hard Knock Life sound a lot like they always did, but new songs have a decidedly more contemporary, blandly R&B sound.
Mostly, this feels like a star vehicle for 11-year-old Wallis, whose 2012 Oscar-nominated debut in Beasts of the Southern Wild established her as a young actress to watch.
Much of the movie is forgettable, some even induces cringes, such as during an unfortunate version of I Think I'm Going to Like It Here when Stacks' loyal assistant Grace (Rose Byrne), joins with a social services worker (Stephanie Kurtzuba) to awkwardly dance, flail and warble around Stacks' sprawling penthouse apartment.
The acting is one-note, and the singing, save for Wallis and Foxx, adds only a couple more. Director Will Gluck should have cast actors with musical backgrounds. Oddly, it's as if those skills weren't a priority at all. It's apparent how desperately such talent is needed when a pro like Foxx sings and the audience breathes a collective sigh of relief.
Brief highlights surface in the form of a movie-within-a-movie, when Annie and Stacks attend a film premiere. The faux production starring Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis is directed by hot filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who madeThe Lego Movie.
Of course, the lovable little tyke wouldn't be Annie without her faithful pooch Sandy — named this time around for the hurricane and more of an Akita mix than the shaggy terrier of past productions.
The 21st century Annie drowns out the character's unflagging optimism with a disposable auto-tuned soundtrack and an off-putting blend of cynicism and schmaltz.