Review: Labyrinth

***What the heck?!  NO LINE BREAKS?  Is this what WordPress has to offer?  Maybe it’s a bug…must investigate…this looks horrible!***

 Last night Vero surprised me by showing up at the gym while I was fat-burning away. She was at the mall to find some shoes so we headed home, had some supper, and then realized that she had brought Labyrinth with her. I was also talking to Trish who was about to get groceries and convinced her that watching Labyrinth is so much more fun.

Rewind: Vero mentioned that Labyrinth was her favourite film of all time so I went ahead and picked it up for her over the holidays. I vaguely remember watching this film…flashbacks of David Bowie and his grand hair and some crystal ball. Vero on the other hand, had an interesting story in that her father had videotaped the film but the ending was cut off so even though she had seen the film a gazillion times as a child, she had never seen the end!

With this knowledge, we entered the magical world of Labyrinth which Jim Henson directed and George Lucas produced. I must admit that it was very cool in the fantastical way. Lots of colours, lots of interesting characters (Muppets) and overall, some kickass Davie Bowie-ness going on. Trish mentioned how this film spawned her and Jennie’s desire to see all David Bowie films but that failed miserably with a film called The Man Who Fell to the Earth. Supposedly it was a dud. 😉

I am surprised at how much the film interested me over time considering it’s geared to children. I found a lot of classical archetypes of the stories of old…like the characters they meet and the logic puzzles they have to endure. Heck, at one point I thought we were watching a rendition of King’s Quest VI! Jennifer Connelly definitely got on my nerves in the beginning of the film where she hates babysitting her baby brother, but as soon as she wishes him off to the Goblin Kingdom (where David Bowie rules all) she started becoming a believable person.

Can I also mention that I thought of Harry Potter at two points in the film; the first being that there was an owl hanging around. Second, when David Bowie mistakenly calls Hoggle by the name of Hogwarts (the school in Harry Potter). Neat!

Two thumbs up for this timeless masterpiece. It didn’t seem dated whatsoever (unless you are a kid who can’t get over Muppets).

The best part about watching this film was that Vero realized at the 37 minute mark that this is where the film had actually ended for her when she was a kid! We all had a good laugh at the fact that she had missed an hour’s worth of the rest of the film and I was happy to see her face become amazed at the remainder of the film.

iplaying: Heavy Metal Machine – The Smashing Pumpkins (AOL Sessions)