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Shrek the Third
Reviewed by Theo Michelfeld
Posted: May 21, 2007

Another guaranteed blockbuster rolls off the assembly line this weekend with Shrek the Third. Parents, if you’re wondering if you should take your kids to this film, relax… you don’t have a choice. If you’re wondering what to expect, you can expect another episode of the winning Shrek formula: cleverly undermined fairy tales, anything-goes anachronisms, Mike Myers as a Scottish ogre, and poop jokes. I saw the film in a jam-packed theater, and the laughs were split about 50/50 between the adults and the kids. And by the end we had all been reminded to respect ourselves no matter what people think of us, or who they insist we are.

I would have to be something of an ogre myself to come down too hard on this movie. Shrek the Third is funny, so it gets my endorsement. This film includes a hilarious dream-within-a-dream sequence, a gingerbread cookie whose life flashes before his eyes, a Pinocchio talking in circles to avoid telling a lie, and a headless horseman who has always dreamed of playing the flute. In light of the wit at play in this series, the shortcomings at large in the sequels are easy to forgive.

That said, I’m afraid the Shrek franchise is doomed to a mere episodic existence. The original Shrek was satisfying and surprising in part because the heroes grew and changed over the course of the movie. In that film, Shrek, his sidekick Donkey, and his love interest Fiona, were repeatedly abandoning each other, until their hearts drew them all back together. But two films later, there is no longer any conflict or tension left to be mined from these characters. The new film does invest much of its running time in Shrek’s anxiety about becoming a father. But anxiety doesn’t have much zing unless it leads to bad choices, and Shrek & Company have all become too healthy for bad choices. It’s called living happily ever after, and there’s a reason storytellers don’t go into detail.

The primary conflict in Shrek the Third comes courtesy of the Prince Charming character, who wants Shrek’s crown. He finds a group of fairy tale villains sulking in a bar and rounds them up for revenge against enchantment’s winners. Not surprisingly, these moments best re-capture the inspired wit of the original film. In fact most of the new film’s successful humor comes from its peripheral characters, while the heroes seem to coast along on previously earned laurels.

It is not such a terrible fate for Shrek, to be turned into a cinematic sitcom… The loveable gang, together again, for another adventure… Not unlike Happy Days, except the episodes are less frequent, and each one rakes in $400 million. Irretrievable, perhaps, are the courage, warmth, and edginess that gave the first film its beating heart. But the humor is still there, and the laughs are adequate compensation for what’s been lost along the way.

Copyright © 2007 Theo Michelfeld