Charming Puss In Boots walks away with the show in 'Shrek 2'

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Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Charming Puss In Boots walks away with the show in 'Shrek 2'

By PAULA NECHAK
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

And they all lived happily ever after ...

MOVIE REVIEW

SHREK 2

DIRECTOR: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon

VOCAL CAST: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Cleese, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Jennifer Saunders

RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes

RATING: PG for mild crude humor and thematic elements

WHERE: Alderwood, Bellevue Galleria, Cinema 17, Cinerama, Columbia City, Crossroads 8, East Valley, Edmonds, Factoria, Gateway 8, Issaquah, Kirkland Parkplace 6, Majestic Bay, Metro, Oak Tree, Mountlake, Parkway Plaza 12, Pacific Place, Redmond Town Center, Valley Drive-In, Woodinville 12.

GRADE: B
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Well, not quite. The ogre still has to meet the in-laws.

"Shrek 2" is a very different film than its predecessor -- less scatological, darker and strangely crasser in a slick, commercialized sense, almost as if its good-natured heart was blackened by overexposure and box-office success.

But like "Shrek," it's adult-driven in its humor, with a full plate of movie, fairy tale and Hollywood inferences that will bring howls from grownups while sliding right over the heads of even not-so-young kids.

And it comes with a pair of hilarious voice performances by Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas.

Newly married Shrek (Mike Myers) and his beloved Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are invited to her home, the Kingdom of Far Far Away, by her parents, the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews). The entire kingdom wants to greet the new husband of their beloved princess, not knowing the "husband" is a green ogre with bad hygiene and worse table manners.

The couple arrive, joined by Donkey (Murphy), who is mourning the mood swings of the fire-breathing dragon he nuzzled at the end of the first film. Far Far Away is one big medieval Beverly Hills, with celebrities like Snow White and Cinderella living in estates behind gated walls and a Far Far Away sign that riffs the Hollywood banner in the L.A. hills.

A struggle ensues between the King, underwhelmed at Fiona's choice, and Shrek, who realizes his bride once dreamed of marrying Prince Charming and living happily ever after. Little does Shrek know the King has entered into a secret pact with Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), a greedy corporate potion-maker -- and mother to the impossibly vain and pouty Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) -- to claim the Princess's hand and gain power in the kingdom.

The fairy tale characters from the first installment all reappear, but as much as Diaz and Myers earn star billing for their voice talents, they are curiously tamped down next to their co-stars. Saunders gets a big part, as does Cleese but these characters get a bit tedious and they exist solely to drive the plot.

The real humor comes, once again from Murphy, whose Donkey is so genuinely funny and clever that he very nearly steals the film. Except that it's stolen by Banderas as a rogue Puss In Boots outlaw hired by the King to do in Shrek. His Puss is so endearing and charming in his less-than-honorable pursuits and so feline in his self-deluded pride, that the film brightens and magic happens whenever Puss appears on the scene.

Paula Nechak is a Seattle free-lance movie writer. She can be reached at nechak@hotmail.com.