“Annie,” the original Broadway production about an orphan girl extends to the big screen as a modern, diverse production with much disappointment. The film follows the classic character Little Orphan Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) and her life living under the care of cruel, alcoholic Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). Shortly while running in the streets chasing Sandy, her dog, she meets billionaire Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), who she later builds an unexpected friendship with. From there, Annie experiences a life outside of the orphanage while teaching Stacks that there is more to life than personal gain.
The film included known and loved songs, such as “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Maybe,” and “Tomorrow.” With a contemporary touch, Sia (singer and songwriter of “Chandelier”) sang “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” which was the main tune of the movie. The classic melodies from the musical and famous musicians’ music added to the soundtrack guided this updated film adaptation in right direction. However, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx singing in the film made it barely tolerable and drawn out. Whenever it was their part to sing, moviegoers were living a ‘hard knock life’ throughout the entire duration of the song.
In the film’s beginning, the girls at the orphanage performed a choreographed dance to “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” which was engaging, upbeat, and energetic to watch. Annie dancing and singing around the orphanage while cleaning, in spite of Hannigan, added more to Wallis’ overall performance. This scene left me humming its catchy tune for weeks. “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here,” another song performed later in the movie, had an equivalent effect. Despite a well-choreographed dance for those two musical numbers, the rest of the film was a bore and uninteresting to watch. Movie critic Mary Houlihan for Sun-Times Media stated, “Even Sandy the dog looks like he’s had enough.” Agreed.
Although Diaz and Foxx are notable and admired actors, their performance in “Annie” did not reflect their talent within the movie industry. Their cheesy and exasperated acting was cringe-worthy, easily forgettable, and a disappointment to such an anticipated movie. On the other hand, Wallis was almost spot on with her character–keeping the charm of the classic Annie, but adding a new spunk and flair of her own. Previously seen in “12 Years a Slave,” and Oscar nominated “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” it appears that this 11 year old actress will be running all about the industry.
I was genuinely excited about to see “Annie” receive a modernized film adaptation, but felt robbed when I left the theater. The majority of the film was forgettable acting, little-to-nothing simplistic choreography, and an auto-tuned mess far from real singing. The only thing that really worked in the flick were a few scenes that reminded viewers of the Broadway production. For Little Orphan Annie and her crew, it looks like the sun won’t come out tomorrow.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
