Hey everyone! It’s no great secret that the internet loves hyperbole. Most movies are either total disasters or masterpieces these days and yet I am still surprised when I see that reaction to a movie I think is a decidedly mixed bag. This is how I felt about the new film Wonka. In fact, when I told a friend I had mixed feelings on it they responded ‘oh that’s too bad.’ Again, mixed feelings. I thought some things were fantastic in it and other aspects didn’t work for me. I’ll say it again- MIXED.
Let’s talk about the strengths first. My biggest takeaway with Wonka is I think I’m finally squarely on the Timothée Chalamet hive. I’ve enjoyed him in films like Little Women and Call Me By Your Name but never been completely won over like I was here. He is charming with a wink in his eye that reminded me of Gene Wilder in the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He always seems like a nicer person than the Wonka in that film but it is appropriate since this is a prequel and he hasn’t been as embittered by the world.
I also loved the musical sequences and have no idea why the studio is hiding the film’s greatest asset. Not a song to be found on youtube or in the marketing. It’s bizarre and speaks to a troubling trend in promoting musicals which can be seen in Wonka, The Color Purple, and the upcoming Mean Girls: The Musical. Barely any songs to be found in the trailers for musicals!
Most of the cast in Wonka is enchanting along with Chalamet including Calah Lane as a little orphan girl named Noodle, Sally Hawkins as his mother, and Hugh Grant as the Oompa-Loompa. All together they kept me rooting for the characters and invested in their story.
As far as the downsides to the film I didn’t love the plot they chose involving Willy becoming an indentured servant to Olivia Colman’s Mrs Scrubbit. I know Roald Dahl stories always have horrible female antagonists but she wasn’t fun in an over-the-top way and it just wasn’t whimsical or ghoulishly entertaining. I also couldn’t stand a series of fat jokes and suits involving Keegan-Michael Key’s policeman character. I am not someone that requires body positivity in characters but it’s also not inherently funny to have someone get progressively more obese for laughs.
My other complaint is admittedly more of a nitpick: they didn’t make the chocolate look very tasty. Whenever Willy gave a character a chocolate or ate one himself it looked like hard plastic. I know you could say that about the original with the rivers of chocolate water but there were moments the candy looked good like when he eats the tulip cup or the mushroom with marshmallow in it.
I just wish the movie had been a little more escapist when it comes to the confections. It would have added to the whimsy of it all.
That said, Wonka is still a whimsical musical with a great leading performance that helps overcome any of its flaws. I will be curious once general audiences get to take a look at it. Will they be as enchanted as most critics seem to be or leave with a more bitter taste in their mouths? We will see. As for me it’s flawed but worth a taste!
7 out of 10
Smile Worthy