stardust – 4 stars

like previously mentioned here, there was no way i could have missed the first major film adaptation of a book by one of my favorite writers — even if it’s one of his strories i haven’t got around to reading yet (embarrassing!). so yes, i went in with pretty high expectations. but i’m happy to report that those expectations, although not entirely met, weren’t much let down either, which made me really happy.

skipping over the princess bride-meets-harry potter type stuff that could populate a full review on it’s own, yes, it’s a fairy tale story with magic and lots of special effects. in fact, my only complaint would be that some of the effects sequences went on much longer than they needed to, when it was the story and characters that were so much fun i wish they had more time to play in.

the hero is an extremely likeable, somewhat goofy young guy trying to figure himself out, and the falling star girl he meets played by claire danes is clever and adorable. watching their adventures, and of course their eventual romantic moments, could have been totallly cheesy if it were another romantic comedy with kate hudson, but instead was totally charming and sweet.

what pushed it over the edge was the well-balanced mix of dry british sophisticated humor with some childish wonder that reminded you to not take your fairy-tale glasses off, start trying to think about things too rationally and ruin it all. add on the excellent supporting cast, like ricky gervais in his typical genious style of banter, robert de niro in a hilariously a-typical role i won’t dare spoil for you, and a band of ghostly dead princes always hovering around enjoying the show themselves make for a great storybook experience that was just fun to relax and enjoy. if you’re not too grown-up to let yourself have a good time with a movie like this, i highly suggest you go out and see it.

and take a pretty girl too if you can, the way the star-girl ‘lights up’ when she’s happy is so cute you’re totally going to want to kiss someone afterward.