Hitchhikers Guide to Normal
Sucker Punch
Quick intro. You don’t know me, and that’s ok. Well, you do but you don’t know it. I am the one that is doing all the marketing and social networking, the researching (and correcting) of facts on the show. I’m “The Girlfriend.” I am just a normal movie goer and here is my opinion.
For weeks, I’ve been looking forward to the release of Zack Snyder’s newest action/fantasy flick “Sucker Punch.” Oooooooo …
I am not one of those people who follow directors or writers necessarily, but Snyder has directed two of my all-time favorite movies, Dawn of the Dead & Watchmen. He definitely has caught my attention in the past and like Snyder’s beautiful, 3D epic Legend of the Guardians, Sucker Punch is set in a very creative world that’s easy on the eyes. Similarities, unfortunately, end there.
Snyder’s “dream world” seems to change every time it appears, representing a different stage of technology and social economy each time. I’m still not entirely sure whether it was intended to be fact-based or just someone’s random, crack-induced dream. Either way, it’s proof positive that Snyder should stick with directing and leave the writing to the big kids.
Joining Snyder is Carla Cugino (for a Watchmen reunion apparently?) and Jon Hamm to play some not so interesting one dimensional characters. The main cast of girls (Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens) were not far from being on that same boat, though they certainly were more relatable, even if it is in a weird sort of pre-pubescent after-school-special way.
When I first heard of the movie, I thought the concept would be innovative, and engaging. Not so much. It actually seemed more like I was watching a group of girls play make-believe. Any conflict that dose arise is met with a magical ability to either alter reality or just plain ignore it.
Spoiler Warning:
Cornish plays an all-knowing big sister named Sweat Pea, who fights the escape plan just because she didn’t think of it. As soon as the other girls say “please” and stick out their bottom lip, she gives in only to bitch and moan the whole way through. The group of supposed dysfunctionals ban together under the reign of Browning’s Baby Doll, an abused, mourning young woman with a hidden talent for dance. There also also three other girls. One of them has short hair and is a martyr. That’s about as much character development given.
In the end, the bitch Sweat Pea gets away and sexy, enchanting Baby Doll gets the shitty end of the stick, and then still wins. I think. I’m still not entirely sure how she won because she didn’t … but she did. Kind of.
Not sure what the hell just happened? Yeah, that’s “Sucker Punch.”
The Girlfriend, a.k.a. Kari Franz, is an entertainment writer based in Portland, OR. Kari studied marketing, multimedia design, and theater in college. After joining DK, she took over event and operations planning and regularly contributes to the column and website.
