Two years ago when Amy Adams scored an Oscar nomination for Junebug …. everyone asked: who? Recognition won't be an issue after Enchanted because she's such a loveable and funny screen presence.
When we first meet our heroine, she's in cartoon form in an introduction that celebrates and parodies the classic age of Walt Disney's fairy tale movies.
Our Princess Giselle is about to marry her Prince Edward, but it's a move that threatens his wicked stepmother, Queen Narissa. So the evil old crone tricks Giselle into a portal out of the enchanted land of Andalasia and into tough as nails Manhattan.
Once on the streets of the big apple, Giselle can only rely on Patrick Dempsey's cynical divorce lawyer Robert and his wide-eyed daughter Morgan. Her presence however, puts a crinkle in Robert's marriage plans.
Meanwhile, Prince Edward – played by James Marsden – has come through to our side to find his true love, while Queen Narissa's minion Timothy Spall is despatched to finish Giselle off once and for all.
Enchanted works best when Amy Adams has centre stage as the impossibly naïve but relentlessly optimistic Giselle. She can't fathom that people would get a divorce, fashions her wardrobe from Robert's curtains and can summon animal friends to help her sweep, even if they are pigeons and rats.
Patrick Dempsey is solid and likeable as Robert, but James Marsden, fresh from his winning work in Hairspray, is a standout as the gormless romantic Edward.
It's a pity that the filmmakers didn't make better use of Susan Sarandon as Narissa. When she finally appears, she's given stock-standard villainess dialogue and motives.
Nevertheless, the film's songs are joyously upbeat and eye-wateringly funny. In fact, Enchanted does nothing but enchant in its first half.
It builds up so much goodwill that it's is easy to forgive its more pedestrian closer.
This is an irrepressibly feelgood fantasy flick that conjures up three and a half stars.
