{"id":3430,"date":"2014-12-26T13:51:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-26T13:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=3430"},"modified":"2014-12-26T13:51:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-26T13:51:47","slug":"annie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/comedy\/annie\/","title":{"rendered":"Annie ***"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Annie\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Beasts of the Southern Wild<\/em> child star Quvenzhan\u00e9 Wallis drags the character of Annie kicking and screaming into the 21st<\/sup> Century in the 2014 remake. For starters, she often reminds us she\u2019s \u201cnot an orphan\u201d but a \u201cfoster kid\u201d \u2013 a term more commonly recognised these days with unconventional families the norm. She\u2019s still singing and dancing, albeit to more current, \u2018street-vamped\u2019 versions of the classic songs but the bare bones are still there for fans.<\/p>\n

There is also a heavy use of social media throughout the film \u2013\u00a0just so you get the point that it\u2019s set in present day. This makes you think, surely, the search for her parents would have been over a lot sooner with all the social platforms at work? Or maybe Annie\u2019s parents aren\u2019t as tech savvy?<\/p>\n

The story follows Annie, a foster kid living with washed-up foster mum Miss Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) and fellow female foster kids in a run-down apartment in Harlem, New York. Each Friday Annie visits an Italian restaurant \u2013 the place her parents left her along with a note and half a locket, in the hope they will return to collect her.<\/p>\n

Events take a turn for the worse, leading Annie straight into the path of neurotic billionaire businessman Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) who is on the election trail to become New York\u2019s next mayor. What starts out as a press \u2018photo opportunity\u2019 to get higher poll ratings, with Stacks spending time with Annie, turns into a father-daughter relationship.<\/p>\n

Wallis is a little ray of sunshine in this, instantly loveable as Annie, while sometimes too \u2018cookie\u2019 sweet to stomach. However, the latter just goes to annoy the more uptight characters around her in a gleeful way, causing your smile to linger longer than you imagine on more than one occasion.<\/p>\n

Initially, Diaz seems like an unlikely (miscast) Hannigan but soon wins you over \u2013\u00a0she\u2019s as much of a big kid as her charges, and has more of an apparent reason for turning to booze than the original Hannigan. It seems \u2018must-have solo gags\u2019 have been added into Diaz\u2019s contract, maybe for the film\u2019s producers, including Jay-Z and the Smiths, Will and Jada, to get their full money\u2019s worth out of the comic star, but these Diaz quips can grate.<\/p>\n

Foxx has a lot of fun \u2013 and is value for money \u2013 as the germophobe Stacks. He also has one of the campiest scenes ever in recent cinematic history, with a singing number performed to Annie high above Manhattan in a helicopter that is beyond cringe \u2013 it\u2019s just pain hilarious. Rose Byrne plays smart sidekick Grace, Stack\u2019s long-suffering PA (and love interest), while Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is chauffeur\/bodyguard Nash, the modern-day Punjab; the more eagle-eyed of you will spot the homage in the name of the place across the street where Stacks first meets Annie.<\/p>\n

There are some interesting socio-economic factors that don\u2019t go a miss; Annie is an African America in deprived inner city area, and although a bright kid, has fallen through the educational cracks and not been taught to read. This point is further highlighted in a charity dance mob scene at the end. Let\u2019s face it, Annie<\/em> as a story was always a moral consciousness prod.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, this film is full of gadgetry (and product placement), from phones to the latest high-tech living arrangements \u2013\u00a0in case the adult audience members\u2019 interest in the basic story starts to wane. And no current kid\u2019s film would be complete without a saturation of mobile\/app\/social usage, (lazily) marking out the tension points in the film.<\/p>\n

Annie<\/em> 2014 is almost a mild spoof of the original film. It doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously, though the serious issues simmer below the surface. With running gags \u2013\u00a0like Stack\u2019s pollen problem to the kleptomaniac social services lady (a crazy turn from Stephanie Kurtzuba), it is meant to be a fun panto time with songs you recognise. It\u2019s a cold-stone heart that doesn\u2019t come out of the cinema with as much as a smile.<\/p>\n

3\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

Follow on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n