Mirror Mirror

Reviewed by Danny the Demented
Updated April 17 2012

Glamour, splendor, and undeniable beauty, these are constants in any and all Tarsem Singh movies. What sets this retelling of an age-old tale apart from the rest is that, my goodness, it actually has a coherent storyline. Only took you 4 movies to learn that script matters, Mr. Singh, you take the term "baby steps" to a whole, other, level. But better late than never, am I right or am I right? Yeah you know it.


"Mirror Mirror" is a fantasy/comedy adaptation of the famous tale of Snow White. The wicked queen Clementianna (Julia Roberts) has taken over as the ruler of the kingdom after the mysterious death of the King. Snow White, the rightful heir, is kept prisoner (albeit a very well-dressed one) inside the castle and is prohibited from having any contact with the outside world. And (brace yourself, run-on coming!) then of course a prince (Armie Hammer) shows up and they meet and fall head over heel over each other because it's love at first sight and that is totally possible in fairy tales but oh no the queen wants a piece of the prince as well because he is rich and handsome and naked (on many occasions, you're welcome ladies) and henceforth the queen needs to dispatch Snow White permanently meaning killing her but that plan fails inevitably because if she dies then there's no movie duh and she runs into the seven dwarfs and with their help Snow White battles the queen to save her love, her kingdom, and herself. Oh yeah I am good. I am like Ricky Bobbie, I wake up and piss excellence.

Just to be clear, the plot is not without inconsistencies and oh-dare-I-say mistakes. But compared with Singh's previous works (The Cell, The Fall, Immortals), this marks the first time Singh has done a movie with minimal holes in his film that I can sit back and take in the scenery along with the story. Singh has a gift with the visual part of the cinematic experience, there has never been any doubt. In fact, no one in the business can match his aesthetic game. His films are always breathtaking to watch and the cinematography is consistently top-notch. When you are watching a Tarsem Singh movie, you are surrounded by an unrelenting force of both beauty and exquisite taste. But his flaw has always been his tendency to care very little (or not at all) about story development. His characters are almost always boring and uninteresting. Well not here. In  "Mirror Mirror", the characters are funny, caring, at times conniving, and always relatable. Turning over a new leaf are we Mr Singh, see? people do change (Michael Bay, so can you!)
It is important to note here that the jaw-droppingly beautiful costumes are designed by the late Eiko Ishioka. A master of her craft, she is responsible for everything that is pretty and graceful in all of Singh's movies. A shame that she passed away, the world will never again know beauty that can only be offered by master Ishioka. You will be missed. 


I had my doubts about Julia Roberts as the evil queen when I saw the trailer (the trailer doesn't do this film justice by the by), but I was happily mistaken. Roberts was funny, lively., and carries the movie in many scenes. I hate to admit it, but she is an A-lister for good reasons. Armie Hammer was acceptable as the prince, but it was not a meaty role so......but hey, he is good looking and naked, and there are worse things to be called (say chubby and fat, yes mom I will stop eating Oreos, WHY DO THEY TASTE SO GOOD WITH MILK ARRRRGH). I am a fan of Nathan Lane and he is solid as the fumbling buffoon Brighton. As for Lily Collins, aside from the eyebrows (wow, like, seriously, wow), she was delightful. She has the perfect face to nail the look of a mixture between innocence and naughtiness. She has solid charisma and I would not object to seeing her again on screen, or next to me, whichever way works better for her. 


Absolutely beautiful to look at, "Mirror Mirror" is also armed with a solidly written comedic script. Humor and beauty? Now that is a combo worth spending money and time on at the theater. My name is Danny and I endorse this message.