This is a fun family comedy. Or supposed to be. Not that fun, not that much comedy. It's a great idea -- a hockey player, who once was in the pros just now is stuck in the minor leagues acting as a protector for the arrogant, young new hot shot hockey player, gets angry and tells the daughter of the woman he is dating that the tooth fairy isn't real, thus possibly damaging her ability to believe or imagine or something and so as punishment he is called upon to become a part-time tooth fairy by the tooth fairy people until he learns to believe or to let others believe or something. Now, like I said the movie isn't very good, but it isn't very bad. It's just blandly nice. I'll start with the good and then I'll do the writer-thing and talk about where this baby went wrong.
The good is the idea, actually. I like the contrast of the hockey player, known for knocking people's teeth out (hence his nickname -- Tooth Fairy) and the fantasy world of the tooth fairies. I also like Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, in the roll. He's a muscle bound guy who likes comedy and has a goofy, nice guy persona. And there's a a nice element of Johnson being disillusioned because he's stuck playing enforcer for some hot shot kid and so he taken and put into this fantasy world.
But that's about it. (And what's with Ashlet Judd in the lame mom-role? Didn't she used to be a movie star?)
And now for the writer critique. Let's compare TOOTH FAIRY with a much better film, LIAR LIAR. Now in L-L has two things going on: (1) Jim Carrey is a lawyer who is trying to win a big case that will make him partner and (2) while he loves his son, he keeps breaking promises to his son and his ex-wife who is fed up and threatening to move away with their son. (She's also dating a new guy who wants to marry her.) So in L-L we see quickly two things Jim Carrey wants -- (1) to win the case and make partner and (2) to repair things with his son, and possibly his ex-wife. We also see how these things conflict -- to make partner he has to work and work, and this causes his to not be there for his wife and son. Then it's when he misses his son's birthday party that his son makes a wish that his father cannot tell a lie. This spins Carrey's world around since he gets by on deception (what lawyer isn't a liar?) and now he has to try to win the biggest case of his career without lying. So again, we know what he wants (the case, his son), and we see how they conflict and we can see how this wish -- this magical element -- is going to spin things around and amplify everything. All that is a good sign they have the makings of a good story. (Not that they couldn't screw it up or anything, just that the basic story mechanics are there.) Now let's compare that with TOOTH FAIRY. In T-F, Johnson's character wants...he wants...um... Okay, I have no idea. And right away that should be a signal that there are problems. He doesn't seem to want anything in terms of hockey (he doesn't say he's trying to get back to the pros, for instance) and he doesn't seem to want anything from a personal level (he's dating Ashley Judd but they aren't talking about marriage or anything). Okay, so maybe he's not a wanting-guy. Maybe he's happy. Maybe the story is about him having a character flaw, ala Scrooge, and this fantasy element will help him overcome that flaw. Except his biggest flaw is when he tells his gf's daughter that there is no tooth fairy. Now, I don't think that was a good thing to do or anything, but I don't really see not believing in the tooth fairy as a huge character flaw. There's this idea that he is ruining these kids chance to believe in dreams or something, but it comes out of a moment of anger. It's not like he's an actuary who instructs his kids to not gample and risk nothing ever. I like the idea that he is disillusioned and in his frustration he is passing it onto the kids, but so what? Isn't the simple fact that he's not in the pros after all that work a sign that you might never achieve your dream? So again, what does he want? What is the story about? And that ultimately is the story's biggest flaw -- there just isn't a compelling answer to any of those questions. Yes, the concept is there. Yes, there are some nice elements. But the lack of goals -- the lack of WANT -- and the lack of any clear theme guts any chance the story has. It's hard to make a compelling story without any real goals, when there seems to be so little at stake. Sure, you can fill in with some silliness, but that is going to get long before an hour and a half is up. Movies need that push and pull, that hope and fear -- yes, even in comedies. Ultimately, any movie is about emotion and if the character doesn't want anything then there is no reason for us to root, not just for him but for anything. Should he win the game? Lose the game? Belive or not believe? If there's nothing he wants then it doesn't really matter, so there's none of that emotional roller coaster ride. It's all just bland.
Plus most of the tooth fairy-fantasy world is lame.
If you want to see a movie about being willing to believe rewatch Peter Pan. When Tinkerbell is dying and the only way to save her is by yelling "I believe in fairies!" -- that's how it's done, folks.
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