Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is a real surprise. On first glance one could be forgiven for assuming that this film is going to completely utterly suck. But guess what? Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is a fun, quality film. The story will not blow you out of your seat and change your perception of time and space, but we all know by now that this New Hollywood is not capable of such a feat. But Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium does deliver the goods.
Dustin Hoffman plays the ancient Mr. Magorium who is passing on his magical, and the term is meant literally, onto his bright-eyed employee Mahoney, played by Natalie Portman. This quite little film actually has the dual-distinction of being one of Hoffman’s strongest performances and also marks a turning point as we see Portman really dig in and do some very good acting. Oh sure Hoffman has had more “dramatic” roles but what he does with the Mr. Magorium character is pretty impressive. We see Hoffman both display Magorium’s sadness about his situation and his joy and wonder for life, sometimes simultaneously. The supporting cast of Zach Mills as the young boy Eric who somehow is allowed by his mother to work in the shop does a very good job. The same can be said for Jason Bateman who plays the anal, lifeless accountant hired to get the toy store’s books in order.
What makes Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium a great movie is that the script not only pull the audience right in and holds them, but also sparks some of that feeling of what it was like to be a kid. Sure this film is mostly aimed at kids and it is silly, but it also works and makes for a good date movie, as the film is definitely a feel good flick.
Director Zach Helm is another one of those directors who “magically” (pardon the pun) just seems to have received the green light to direct a big-budget film out of “left-field” and to an extent it shows as some of the camera work and editing decisions are, at times, a bit awkward as some shots don’t exactly match. No doubt Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium could have benefited from a more experienced director, but the film does still stand as a little hidden gem.
Story A-
Acting A-
Visuals A
Originality/Innovation B- (Like almost everything Hollywood touches these days, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium was based on a book. For as frequent readers of my reviews probably knows by now, every movie produced these days is either a sequel, a video game movie, based on a book or a remake. Hey, its not art in Hollywood, its money.) Enjoyability Grade A
Home Theater/HD Factor A
Overall Grade A- (Good visuals, very nice acting and a solid story all combine to make this a fun film. Older audiences are likely to enjoy it more than those of us who have had our souls sucked out by the cruelty of life, but there is still enjoyment to be had by all. The film is fun enough that I will even overlook the underhanded and lazy stunt of having almost all of the action take place in one location or as I like to call it-"the lazy filmmakers friend.")
