Enchanted

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel

Directed by: Kevin Lima

RS: 3of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3.5of 4 Stars

2007 Walt Disney Pictures Comedy

You might want to remember the name Amy Adams. It's star-is-born time for the Colorado Mormon, who won a supporting-actress Oscar nomination for 2005's Junebug, which few saw (dumb move). Enchanted has the makings of a supersize sugarcoated hit, and Adams is just the spicy princess you want to take home and PG-love. Not since Julie Andrews rode an umbrella to glory in Mary Poppins has Disney given us such a real-life doll.

Actually, Adams' Giselle starts off as a cartoon, a princess who finds her prince (James Marsden), only to have his bitch-queen mother (Susan Sarandon) banish her to hell. That would be Times Square, where the characters take on flesh and blood. OK, it's corny. Script contrivance, thy name is having Giselle take refuge in the Manhattan apartment of a McDreamy divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) and his young daughter (Rachel Covey), which really irks — they don't say "pisses off" in family films — his girlfriend (Idina Menzel). But Enchanted makes magic when Giselle, who also looks yummy in just a towel, redecorates his digs with the help of rats, pigeons and roaches. The terrific score is from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. And X-Man Marsden (so good in Hairspray) is a hoot as the song-and-dance-man prince. Yet Adams is the wish your heart makes when you want a storybook princess for the ages. She's wicked good.

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