Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
December 2nd, 2007
¡°Mr. Magorium¡¯s Wonder Emporium¡± -- Small
Wonder
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007

As I think about eccentric men who want to keep
children happy, I am going to add Mr. Magorium
(Dustin Hoffman) to the list. He joins Santa
Clause, Willy Wonka, and Michael Jackson.
However, as far as people with whom I would like
to hang out for a day, Mr Magorium just edges out
Michael Jackson for 3rd place. I appreciate his
optimism, but he is infuriatingly mannequin-ish,
and with each additional word that he utters, you
feel like you have better things to do.

I carry a feeling of regret as I write these
words. Hoffman does some fine acting as he
portrays this lovably daffy character. He¡¯s
always a welcome presence on the big screen. He
spends much of the movie speaking in a Zen-like
lisp to his prodigy, Molly (Natalie Portman). I
am thinking that Mr. Magorium was a character
that was somehow left off of the Baron Munchasuen
roster or lost out on a casting call versus a
gnome during the animated Dungeons and Dragons
animated Saturday morning cartoon of the 80s. He
has the same approach to living his life as he
does to his impending ¡(r)departure¡¯.

I also admire Natalie Portman, who has range and
skill. She can play a Queen (Star Wars I) in a
PG-rated world; a self-loathing depressant (The
Darjeeling Limited) in an R-rated world; and now
an innocent adolescent in a G-rated world. She
provides the anchor for the plot, as little as
there is. Once a musical prodigy, she struggles
with career choices. Should she re-pursue her
musical interest? Should she devote more of her
energy to the magical emporium?

Neither of these two characters, unfortunately,
are more interesting than the toy store itself.
It is really a bouquet of color and special
effects magic. Stuffed animals have a life of
their own, balls delightfully bounce by
themselves, and fish mobiles are made from fresh
fish. It¡¯s all great to look at, but at some
point, like a new Christmas toy, the excitement
begins to wane.

Another character, Henry (Jason Bateman), comes
one day to help Mr. Magorium organize his files.
Henry is the sort of workaholic dullard that
could din Tinkerbell¡¯s shine. His gray world of
calculators and facts is what pushes Molly to
understand why she¡¯s been apprenticing at the
toy store all these years. Molly has the gift to
help others and to bring a little magic into our
worlds. Yes, it¡¯s something that we all need.
And, the story is pretty transparent. But, even
with its slimmed-down running time of 94 minutes,
the whole exercise seemed long and the lesson
that Molly learns is only mildly interesting.
Maybe I¡¯ve grown up too fast. Or maybe, this
movie just doesn¡¯t have magic behind the magic.

Overall, I can¡¯t say that I really liked the
movie. I liked the characters. I felt a sense
of joy watching all of the magical toys assume a
limited life of their own. I loved what the
Emporium offered (although I would still choose
Santa¡¯s workshop or the Chocolate Factory over
this toy store). And I¡¯m in a holiday mood and
love toys. ¡°Mr. Magorium¡¯s Wonder Emporium¡±
amounted to a fair distraction.

Grade: C

S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 0 out of 3

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