Annie (2014)
|
Annie is a 2014 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Will Gluck and produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment for Sony Pictures' Columbia Pictures. The film stars Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, and Cameron Diaz. It is the third film adaptation of Annie after the 1982 theatrical film and Disney's 1999 television film.
Contents
Plot
Ever since her parents left her as a baby, little Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) has led a hard-knock life with her calculating foster mother, Miss Hannigan. However, all that changes when hard-nosed billionaire and mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) takes her in on the recommendation of his advisers (Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale). Stacks believes that he's Annie's guardian angel, but the plucky youngster's confidence and sunny outlook may mean that Annie will save Will instead.
Why It Sucks
- Poor loyalty to the source material: the original Annie was about a genuine social problem (brutal treatment of orphans during the Depression and the hard-heartedness of the rich). The new one is a manufactured story which doesn't really address anything.
- The film cannot decide if it wants to be different from or the same as the original.
- The film starts off with an offensive scene where a girl resembling the classic redhead Annie performs a chirpy presentation, only to be met with complete indifference from her school class. Challenging lovers of the original to find a reason to hate your remake is rarely a good plan.
- The remake seems to miss the point of the original was that you can be happy no matter what you have. The replacement moral is "being rich is really cool!"
- For some reason, the creators decided it would be appropriate for 2014 Annie, who has lived in a foster family, to be unable to read. 40 minutes after she's shown reading a letter out loud, no less.
- Wastes the talents of Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Quvenzhané Wallis, Michael J. Fox, Rihanna, Sia, George Clooney, and others who were involved in this film.
- Poor acting.
- Cameron Diaz’s portrayal of Miss Hannigan disgraces the original.
- Created as a star vehicle for Will Smith's daughter Willow, but apparently, even she couldn't be persuaded to star in it.
- They blackwashed Annie, in an attempt to be socially aware.
- The orphan girls were unlikable.
Redeeming Qualities
- The plot is still decent and has some faithfulness to the original.
- The soundtrack is decent, especially the remake of the song It's A Hard Knock Life. That song is catchy.
- There were some heartwarming moments in the remake.
Reception
Annie got primarily negative reviews from critics and audiences. The film currently holds a 28% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average of 4.5 out of 10 and a critic consensus that reads "The new-look Annie hints at a progressive take on a well-worn story, but smothers its likable cast under clichés, cloying cuteness, and a distasteful materialism." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone criticized Cameron Diaz's performance in the film and stated that she "overacts the role to the point of hysteria".
Awards and nominations
Annie was nominated for one Golden Raspberry Award for Cameron Diaz as Worst Supporting Actress. It only won the Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. It was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards including Opportunity as Best Original Song.
Trivia
- This was the final film role for Cameron Diaz before she retired from acting in 2016, 2 years after the film's release.
Videos
External links
Annie at the Internet Movie Database
Annie on Rotten Tomatoes
Enable comment auto-refresher