Because Of Winn Dixie Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)February 17th, 2005
"Because of Winn Dixie"
10-year old India Opal (Annasophia Robb) is the new kid in the town of Naomi. Florida where her Baptist minister father, Preacher (Jeff Daniels), has relocated, yet again, after his wife abandoned them when Opal was three. The youngster is alone and lonely, without friends, until she runs an errand to the local super market for her dad and rescues a stray dog that she claims and names after the store chain in "Because of Winn Dixie."
We meet precocious Opal in the middle of an important ballgame where she may well be pitching the game-winning strike or, maybe, a home run. The camera pulls back and we see that little India Opal is alone and playing by herself. Ostracized at school, even by the much maligned Dewberry brothers, Dunlap (Nick
Price) and Stevie (Luke Benward), Opal must suffer the daily grind as the new kid at school. Her dad sends her to the local Winn Dixie Super market to pick up supplies and she witnesses a stray dog running amuck through the store's aisles, leaving disaster and chaos in its wake. When the manager demands the pound be called, Opal claims ownership the gangly, smiling mutt that she names, on the spur of the moment, Winn Dixie.
Opals hands are full as she must introduce the exuberant, accident-prone dog to her constantly distracted minister dad who preaches to his new flock in the combo chapel/convenience store. Preacher is a very troubled man who is always questioning and blaming himself for why his wife, and Opal's mother, left so abruptly seven years before. Dad immediately demands that the newly dubbed Winn Dixie be sent to the pound but Opal gets a reprieve when he agrees to begin a lost dog poster campaign (which Opal thwarts at every chance she gets) to find the dog a new home.
Once Opal insinuates the likable, chaos-prone mutt into their household the duo begin to delve into the nooks and crannies of Naomi and discover some of its interesting denizens. She sees a drifter whom she meets again when she visits Gertrude's Pet Store for dog food for her newfound canine friend. Opal cajoles a job from Otis (Dave Matthews) after the shop's resident cockatoo, Gertrude, accepts the exuberant Winn Dixie.
With this new anchor of friendship and a job, Opal drops by the local library and meets Miss Franny (Eva Marie Saint), the town librarian who fascinates the 10-year old with the story of how she once confronted a bear. Opal is later challenged by the Dewberry boys to enter the mysterious realm of the town's resident "witch," who turns out to be a kindly, near-blind woman named Gloria (Cicely Tyson). The arrival of Winn Dixie into Opal's life proves to be just the thing a lonely little girl needs.
This is a case of where the sum of the parts is far less than the whole. Taken apart to its component pieces there is real craftsmanship apparent from helmer Wayne Wang. For instance, when Opal and nearly-blind Gloria throw a party to bring the quirky townsfolk of Naomi together, the construct of the decorations has a homey touch with paper bag lanterns and egg salad sandwiches. When the big party starts we're presented with a set so lavishly opulent and unbelievably over the top that it is jarringly inappropriate – kind of like movies with elementary school plays that look like Busby Berkeley productions.
Annasophia Robb, as India Opal, looks like she was cast because of her resemblance to Tatum O'Neil in "Paper Moon." She's a cute, precocious youngster but similarity to the youngest Oscar winner is too pointed to be coincidence. The rest of the cast of veteran performers go through the motions but none are given more than two dimensional characters to play. This is too bad considering the caliber of talent like Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson and Eva Marie Saint.
Production credits are first rate but cannot undue the overly manufactured nature of the story. There are too many inane scenes where Winn Dixie wreaks havoc and causes mass destruction that make one question the charm of canine Winn Dixie. The film seems geared, overall, to older kids but these scenes seem to be played for much younger kids. Things like this keep "Because of Winn Dixie" from reaching any kind of balance. Helmer Wang seems like little more than a hired gun.
The artificial, manufactured feel of "Because of Winn Dixie" kept me at arm's length and I never embraced the story or characters as real. To the
filmmakers'
credit, they avoided overdoing the "smiling dog"
concept that is so prevalent in the movie's trailers, which would have been far too cute for words in the film. I give it a C.
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