Stardust - B

In theaters. Rated PG-13, 128 minutes.

If there's a genre I dislike more than Victorian Era period pieces, it would be fantasy epics. Ferries (magical), goblins, witches and the like just don't do it for my hyper-rational mind. Sensing that Stardust writer/director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake!) is probably of like mind, I decided to give this one a chance (also notable is the cast: Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Ricky Gervais, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett and Ian McKellen (narrator)). If you are a big fan of the 'adult fairy tale,' then you will love this film. If you're like me, you'll like it and enjoy the pockets of great performances and legitimate laughs and put up with the 'magic.'

The main character in the film is Tristan (Charlie Cox), who lives in the English countryside town of Wall. Adjacent to the town of wall, and guarded by a wall(!), is another world, called Stormhold. No one has ever gone over the wall and into the other world, except Tristan's father, who conceived him in a one-night stand in the magic world 'market'. Tristan is in love with the beautiful Sienna Miller, the town hottie, but has no chance of getting her because she has a more sophisticated suitor and Tristan is a working class tool. Out of pity, Sienna goes on a walk with Tristan and they see a falling star. She agrees that if he will go and find the star, she will marry him.

Off he goes to Stormhold, where he finds the star (Claire Danes) and begins to bring her back to Sienna. The plot thickens because if you cut out the heart of a fallen star and eat it (!), you will live forever. This sends a prince and a witch on the hunt for the Star. Tristan and the Star go through lots of trials and tribulations and fall in love along the way while stuck on an airship captained by Robert De Niro's character, a gay cross-dressing pirate. Yes, a gay cross-dressing pirate. I knew about this in advance and thought there was no way it could work, but it does. In front of his crew De Niro is a merciless and vile captain, but that's all for show. He's really a stereotypical gay man that is only a captain to fulfill his father's wish that the ship keep sailing. His performance and interaction are great, and the laughs are legitimate. While on the ship, the group stops at a market owned by Ricky Gervais, and Lawyer nirvana occurs: a scene with Ricky Gervais and Robert De Niro. The other major character in the film is Michelle Pfeiffer, who plays the leader of 3 grossly old witches that are restored to beauty when they eat part of the heart of a Star. She does an admirable job, although I thought her storyline was the weakest in the film and conjured a little too much 'Death Becomes Her' for my liking.

This is a very strange choice for Matthew Vaughn (below) as a Layer Cake follow-up. My guess is that he is extremely cocky and wanted to prove himself as more than just a crime drama fluke. By any measure, he has achieved his goal. This film works and his touches keep it grounded in reality (as much as it can be) and don't let the film get too romantic or nonsensical for an intelligent adult to enjoy.