“Cruella de Vil… Cruella de Vil…” The old song claims, “If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will,” but what about the crushing capitalist and opportunistic cash grabs of major studios running intellectual property into the ground? In a content-driven era of mindless consumption that seems to punish originality at every turn, that’s pretty evil. But Disney’s brazen commercial intent is dolled up with plenty of eye candy in Cruella, so you might end up letting it slide for a hearty dose of passable entertainment.
Disney’s live action remakes have been great (Cinderella), pretty good (The Jungle Book), unextraordinary (Mulan), and downright terrible (Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King), and Cruella—an origin story following the notorious fashion designer with a proclivity for murdering Dalmatian puppies—falls somewhere in between with its twist on the tired genre. This is true even if by the film’s end you realize it’s simply setting up the inevitable 101 Dalmatians remake yet to come.
The positives? Cruella, despite being a soulless and shameless simulacrum, has plenty of promising moments and is hardly ever boring even at its stretched-out 134-minute running time. Emma Stone plays the eponymous villain’s origin story with zest and a roguish bite, clearly having fun with the role, as is Emma Thompson as The Baroness, a mentor-turned-antagonist who is pivotal in Cruella’s transformation into villainy. Aline Brosh McKenna, who wrote The Devil Wears Prada, is credited with coming up with the story alongside Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis, and the influence of that iconic fashionista comedy is clearly prevalent throughout. If only the actual script, written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, managed to capture as much flair as the predecessor it clearly aimed to emulate.
Instead, we get a mixed bag. In one turn, you have some truly dazzling costume design and the concept of a “fashion heist,” which makes for some great fun. And then, with significant whiplash, Cruella also succumbs to plot holes, clichés and overdone flourishes, most notably its relentless use of needle drops to establish its punk-rock, 1970s London vibe. The soundtrack is great, with music from Blondie, Queen, the Clash, the Doors, Supertramp and more, but be prepared to roll your eyes just as often as they roll the track. Even Tarantino would look at this film and say, “Calm down, bro.”
The end result of Cruella is something that’s at once admirable yet forgettable. While it’s not without its misfires, the film presented an overall satisfactory viewing experience that entered the brain almost as quickly as it left. It will undeniably please others far more than I, especially those craving the remixed familiarity that is all too prominent with these IP-driven releases. There’s an original story in here, for sure, but slapping on a classic Disney villain’s origin story feels a bit like a cop out. It left me craving a fashion heist movie that wasn’t glaringly trying to set up future bank deposits, but the trend is so common these days that it has essentially become the norm. There isn’t any puppy murder in the film, but when it comes to killing ingenuity it’s a downright massacre.
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