Once Upon a Mattress
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Movie Reviews of Once Upon a Mattress
Movie Review: Fun Musical Retelling of "The Princess and the Pea"
Summary: 4 Stars
A long time ago in a kingdom far away, or something like that, there lived Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare). His one desire is to marry, but his mother (Carol Burnett) has no desire to see her only son married, so she has devised a series of tests that any bride-to-be must pass before she marry the prince. Officially, they are to keep the bloodline pure by making sure Dauntless marries only a true prince. Of course, they are so hard that no person would ever be able to pass them.
The prince's unmarried state also weighs heavily on the rest of the court, for the queen has decreeded that no one may marry before the prince does.
This especially hits close to home for Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel) and Sir Harry (Matthew Morrison). Not only have they fallen in love, but they are expecting. In order to keep Lady Larkin from being exiled in shame, Harry heads out to find the perfect princess.
Who he comes back with is Princess Winnifred (Tracey Ullman). At first glance, she seems to be the worst princess yet with her brashness and klutziness. The Prince is immediately smitten with her, but the queen devises her most fiendish plan yet. A true princess would notice a pea hidden under a pile of mattresses, right? Will the Prince ever get married?
I've heard of this musical for years, but had never seen it until this version came out. It's a fun retelling of the classic fairytale of "The Princess and the Pea." Humor abounds and I laughed the entire way through. Carol Burnett originated the roll of Princess Winnifred, but here she really digs her teeth into the roll of the queen, making her appearances on screen very memorable. Tracey Ullman also steals scenes are Winnifred.
There were a few things that put me off a little. Most noticeably, the prince and princess are much older then I thought they would be. It adds a creepiness to the relationship between the prince and the queen. The song "Man to Man Talk," while not having anything offensive in it, will certainly lead to questions from curious kids who don't know about the "facts of life." I was surprised it was present in a musical always marketed toward families.
Of course, the thing that makes or breaks a musical is the musical numbers. There were several memberable songs here, most notably "Shy," which Tracey Ullman does an excellent job belting out. Her "Happily Ever After" was a nice tender song while "Song of Love" is very funny. With the exception of the wonderful "Spanish Panic," the dance numbers weren't quite as inventive as I would have liked, but they were enjoyable as well.
Rushed out after the movie ran on TV, the DVD has only a couple behind the scenes featurettes to its credit. Nice, but nothing to get excited about.
Since I have never seen another version, I can't compare this to other portrayals and have no opinion on songs that got left out of the show. While not a perfect musical movie, it will entertain for an hour and a half
Movie Review: The return of Princess Fred
Summary: 4 Stars
I fell in love with this cute musical back in the 1960's when it was originally aired on TV in black & white, and loved it again ten years later when it was re-aired in color with only minor cast changes. To the many fans of this beloved play, it is impossible not to compare the new Disney version with the originals.
There is much to like. The look of it is wonderful, complete with a Disneyesque rose-framed window at the end, and a castle full of beautiful, anachronistic rooms, and stained-glass windows with a slightly sinister edge to them. Prince Dauntless and the King (Tom Smothers) are likable, sympathetic, engaging people who you root for; Sir Harry and his Lady Larken are both charming and attractive.
Inevitably, though, as in all previous made-for-TV versions, certain changes in dialog and action have been made, and several songs are absent. I was a little sorry to see the jester's role so reduced (he had a fine song in the original play and the earliest TV version), but I did find it amusing that the Wizard, usually played as the Queen's lover,is this time only an effeminate court sycophant. The G-rating might have been more appropriate had Harry and Larken been secretly married as they were in the 1960's version, which actually makes more sense considering they have defied a marriage law. Otherwise, Larken's pregnancy would simply be an embarrassment instead of a crime. It would also be more suitable for the children watching this film, which after all is a prime-time Christmas offering.
But I saved for last the two starring ladies. Carol Burnett should have been brilliant as the Queen, and in moments her brilliance does come through. But she needed the outrageous brassiness that Jane White once gave the role, and it wasn't quite there. Still, no one else today should play the Queen, if only for the legacy. Carol Burnett forever!
I am not at all sure about Tracy Ullman as Princess Fred, though. She was not bad, she just wasn't great. Fred needs to be so much larger than life. She's not just another princess, she's the kind of princess children love because she's a princess they can hope to be like - not the perfect and pretty ladies like Snow White, Aurora, or Cinderella. Ullman is fun, she's cute, but she does not dominate the screen in the same ways that once made Carol Burnett a star. In those days, the bedroom scene was a broadly hilarious climax to a charmingly funny musical. In this production it is amusing, but little more. And for that alone,I was greatly disappointed.
Yet in spite of these problems, it was a most enjoyable film. I am surprised that Disney has not tried to market it in their "princess series", but time will tell. It is a nice film that looks good and feels good, and to the generations who do not know the older versions, this one should be very satisfying.
Movie Review: Burnett Returns to her Roots
Summary: 4 Stars
This new version of "Once Upon a Mattress" is delightful in many ways, and somewhat disappointing in others. For those well-acquainted with the original stage version, you may find yourself missing some wonderful Rodgers-Barer songs (such as "An Opening for a Princess" and "Yesterday I Loved You").
However, given the time constraints of commercial network television (where this version was originally presented), one can understand some of the decisions.
Also in this version, more weight is given to the role of the Queen (Carol Burnett) vs. Princess Winnifred (Tracey Ullman). That's understandable, however, given Burnett's star power and enduring talent. Burnett is stellar in her role, and while Ullman gets the job done with great comic timing, she lacks that awkward, youthfully exuberant, peel-the-paint-off-the-wall singing that the role needs, and Burnett so wonderfully did in the original version (and would become a trademark style for her). Still, given the casting choices these days for someone else in the role, Ullman was probably the best pick.
Though "Mattress" isn't quite in the pantheon of truly great American Broadway musicals such as "South Pacific" or "My Fair Lady" (Richard Rodgers's daughter, Mary, wrote the tuneful, memorable score), it's not easy to write "great" content around "The Princess and the Pea." Still, for a musical that got its start as a fun romp in the Pocono Mountains, any musical writer worth their salt would die happy to have a hit such as this on their resume (and bank account).
Bottom line: This new version of "Mattress" is wonderfully entertaining and stands up nicely on its own merits. It's encouraging that television is doing this sort of thing again (i.e., "Annie", "The Music Man", "South Pacific", "Cinderella").
Movie Review: Terrific new version of Broadway classic
Summary: 4 Stars
This new version of "Once Upon a Mattress" that Broadway chestnut from 1959 that originally featured Carol Burnett as Princess Winnifred ( she also appeared in the 1964 and 1972 television versions) reappears for the holidays with Burnett as executive producer and in the role of Queen Aggravain. This clever reinterpretation has all the appeal of the original production with the multi-talented Tracy Ullman appearing the role of Princess Winnifred. Featuring winning songs and a winning cast (including Zooey Deschanel, Michael Boatman and Tom Smothers) this version is delightful eye candy with colors that almost pop off the screen with their fairy tale sheen. Nicely updated by Janet Brownell and well directed by Broadway choreographer and director Kathleen Marshall.
Nobody in the Kingdom according to the law can get married until the Prince finds a bride. His mother Queen Aggravain (Burnett) continues to come with difficult and challenging questions/tasks to prevent her son from getting married. Desperate to get married Lady Larken (Zooey Deschanel) and her Knight Sir Harry (Michael Morrison) comes up with a plan to get the child-like Prince (Denis O'Hara) married. Harry goes on a hunt for this perfect princess and discovers Princess Winnifred (Ullman). When we first meet her she climbs over the castle walls having swam the moat. With help from Harry, Lady Larken, the Minstrel and Jester Winnifred ("Fred" to her friends) proves to be much more difficult to dispose of compared to the other princesses.
An entertaining Broadway musical that still manages to be engaging and funny, this retelling of the princess and the pea myth is a fun throw back to when musicals were king on the big screen and TV as well.
Movie Review: LESS THAN REGAL BUT WINNING JUST THE SAME
Summary: 4 Stars
Just watched this on the TV special ahead of the release of the DVD and while the show was entertaining it had some short-comings principally in dropping numbers such as "Yesterday I Loved You" which was sung by the young lovers. In its place they sang a shortened version of "Normandy" which was not their number in the first place. "Very Soft Shoes" a minor show-stopper for the jester was missed and "Many Moons Ago" and "An Opening for a Princess" were reduced to bits. The score that was retained was edited but the songs still entertain. The cast was well chosen and Tracy Ullman was brave taking on a role forever identified as Carol Burnetts' who camped it up in high style as wicked Queen Aggravain for this special. Tracy was good and funny but her singing lacked the lung power of Carol Burnett especially the way Ms Burnett belted out "Happily Ever After" and "Shy" Denis O'Hare made an appropriate woe-be-gone Prince Dauntless and Matthew Morrison sang well as Sir Harry. If this show had been made for HBO maybe they could have retained the entire show instead of being constrained by the endless parade of commercials on network Tv. As is the show was still a lot of fun and the funniest line came when Lady Larkin tells Sir Harry she is expecting his baby and Sir Harry replies, "You can't be blamed you had a moment of weakness"