Jamie Foxx
Quvenzhané Wallis
Rose Byrne
Bobby Cannavale
Cameron Diaz

Will Gluck
Aline Brosh McKenna

118 mins.
Comedy, Drama, Family
December 19, 2014

Rated PG for some mild language and rude humor. (MPAA)

“Annie,” the film version released in 2014 that is, isn’t the worst of the adaptations of the stage musical. But it’s not the best either, not even close. (The first feature film, released in 1982, while imperfect, is certainly superior and rightly beloved. But the 1999 TV adaptation, Audra McDonald notwithstanding, fares a bit worse than this one.) This film’s main flaw is the setting. Current-day New York City, as presented here, seems like a nice place to live – orphan or otherwise. And Miss Hannigan, played by a depthless and aimless Cameron Diaz, isn’t scary at all. So there’s no real threat, and they even changed Hannigan’s involvement in the scheme to get money by finding Annie’s “real” parents. Another mistake.

So why should I care about what happens to Annie? She seems fine, just not perfect. (I almost shed a tear.) The other adaptations of “Annie” never had that problem. Actually, watching this film highlights just how important The Depression is to the story of “Annie.” It’s indispensable. (“It’s the Hard Knock Life” comes across as a joke without it.) Without a comparable threat, without teeth, this film is unsubstantial. It’s a product, not a film. Director and co-writer Will Gluck does display a feel for rhythm, though, during the film’s opening – its best part. He loses that as the film wears on. Too bad.

What about the acting and the writing? Well, the characters need lines, and Gluck’s and Aline Brosh McKenna’s writing supplies them – and that’s it. It’s not inspired. And without an appropriate threat, the lines neither sting when they need to nor make you smile or cry when they ought to. They’re insipid. Also, the contemporary touches that are woven into the story aren’t particularly fresh, and the jokes are a shame. The actors can do only so much with this material. But they could do more, especially the adults.

I will cut Quvenzhané Wallis, who plays Annie, some slack. She does what she can, but you can tell that she’s not a singer. Computers have come to her (and everyone else’s) rescue, glaringly so at times. And the songs written specifically for this adaptation fall flat. Just stick to the original ones, please. They don’t need to be replaced, some of the singers do. Jamie Foxx, as William Stacks (instead of Oliver Warbucks), is back to being slightly off-voice at times. He doesn’t go far enough. Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, as Grace Farrell and Rooster replacement Guy Danlily respectively, have little to do. Plus, Foxx’s Stacks, a tech mogul and aspiring politician, doesn’t give them much of an opportunity for inspired responses.

This isn’t a horrible film; it’s a soulless one. And the longer you watch it, the worse it gets. We still have the original film to watch, and I still enjoy watching it. We don’t need a watered-down update. Kids may like this, but will they still like it 20 or more years from now? I doubt it highly.

Verdict: Somewhat Bad

About: (Source: annie-movie.com)

A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures’ comedy, Annie. Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter,Will Gluck, Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith, Caleeb Pinkett, Shawn “JAY Z” Carter, Laurence “Jay” Brown, Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards. Celia Costas and Alicia Emmrich serve as Executive Producers. The screenplay is by Will Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna, based on the musical stage play “Annie,” book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and on “Little Orphan Annie,” © and ® Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Academy Award® nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who’s also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday, it’s been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) – advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) – makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he’s her guardian angel, but Annie’s self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it’s the other way around.