Delayed Reaction: Godmothered

Premise: A fairy godmother in training arrives about 3 decades too late for her "princess", living in Boston.

 

It's impossible to discuss Godmothered without bringing up Enchanted. Godmothered is the same basic idea as Enchanted: throw a fairy tale character into the real world. The only difference that it's the fairy god mother who is causing a stir around town rather than the princess this time. Even the casting basically demands a comparison. Enchanted stars Amy Adams. Who does Godmothered get to play the "princess"? Isla Fisher, who spent years getting confused with Amy Adams*. And, this comparison is an unfortunate one. Simply put: Enchanted is good. Godmothered is less good.

 

*So much so, that in a lovely touch, Nocturnal Animals cast Fisher to play a novelized version of Adams' character.

 

There are a few reasons for this; many out of Godmothered's control. The first is that the idea was fresher in 2007. For a couple decades now, Disney has worked tirelessly to shake their dated princess image. It seems like every movie tries to find a way to upend the classic princess story with a diverse casting choice or a twist on an element like trust love's kiss. By 2020, it's become a stale idea to point out how stodgy the Cinderella model is. Second, Godmothered was made on a very different scale. To my knowledge, it was always intended as a Disney+ release. I doubt it got anywhere close to the $85 million budget that Enchanted got. The star wattage of the cast is well below Enchanted's. It's become very clear that "Disney+ original" means a level above a Disney Channel movie and a level below a theatrical release in terms of effort. About three cringe jokes into June Squibb's opening narration, I realized I wasn't about to get Disney's A-game.

 

That's not to say I hated Godmothered. Pretty quickly, I adjusted my expectations for it, and it met the new ones nicely. It's a cute movie. I think Jillian Bell is the right casting for the wrong movie. She's best used comedically when she's allowed to be a little nasty. Even something as earnest as Brittany Runs a Marathon leans into the fact that her best delivery is a little mean. She gets the flustered parts of her Godmothered role right, but she doesn't really work as an unaware idealist. They did her no favors giving her this character, which isn't that adjusted for her. Isla Fisher works a little better. She's allowed to be grumpy and disillusioned, which she can play. The problem with her is that no one has figured out how to make Isla Fisher not look like Isla Fisher. It's hard to feel that bad about her situation when she's stunning, gainfully employed with great kids, and has a strong support system. I get that the agreement in most movies is that we're supposed to pretend that everyone in them isn't gorgeous, but it's hard to get that invested when Jillian Bell's entire role as a magical fairy godmother boils down to telling Fisher to ask that coworker out and encourage her shy daughter a little more. Does she really need magical intervention for that?

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend