A couple of years ago, my buddy AJ told me about a book he bought, the first in a series of books called "A Series of Unfortunate Events," written by a man oddly named Lemony Snicket. That first book was called "The Bad Beginning," and when AJ was done with it, he let me borrow it. I read it and liked it. Although the book was targeted to children, it was like the "Harry Potter" books in that it was dark, and it was the sort of thing that adults could enjoy. That's where the similarities end, though. Reading the book, I'd say it was a lot more like the works of Roald Dahl (the man who wrote "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "James and the Giant Peach," and many others) or Charles Addams (the creator of "The Addams Family"). I've never read more books in the series, though. Sure, I liked it, but spending ten bucks on each book? Nah.
"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" is a really good movie, but it has its weaknesses. A lot of the comedy falls flat, the movie has a few slow parts, and the ending seems surprisingly anti-climactic, but overall, I found it to be an entertaining film. Yes, it's very dark, but not too dark for kids. In fact, I'd say that "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" is darker. Speaking of Tim Burton...
It really came as no surprise when I heard that a feature film version of the books was being made. Given the success of the books, the cinematic way the books were written, and the success of the "Harry Potter" films, it was inevitable. Having read the first book, it would seem like Tim Burton (my favorite director) would be the perfect guy to direct it, but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen. However, this film is certainly "Burtonesque," and that's probably no accident. The fantastic production design for "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" was handled by Rick Heinrichs, who has worked with Burton since the early 80s. Heinrichs met Burton when they worked together at Disney, where they collaborated on "Vincent" and "Frankenweenie," two short films directed by Burton. They've been working together off and on (mostly on) ever since. Not only that, the trailer to the film uses music from Burton's masterpiece, "Edward Scissorhands."
The man who actually directed "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" was Brad Silberling, a man I NEVER would have thought of to direct the film. From the late 80s to the mid-90s, he was a TV director, but he made his feature film directorial debut with "Casper." I never saw that movie, but the leap from "Casper" to this film doesn't seem that far. However, after "Casper," he directed the horrid "City of Angels" (a remake of the superior German film, "Wings of Desire"). After that, he directed "Moonlight Mile," a dramatic tearjerker that I never saw. I have no idea why he was chosen, but I'm happy to say that he did an impressive job with the movie.
This movie isn't solely based on the first book, "The Bad Beginning," it's also based on the second and third books, "The Reptile Room," and "The Wide Window." The person whose job it was to combine the three books into one screenplay was Robert Gordon (whose credits include "Addicted to Love," "Galaxy Quest," and "Men in Black II"). I think the screenplay turned out pretty good. Actually, Lemony Snicket himself was first assigned the task of writing the screenplay, but his script was rejected. And in case you were wondering, Lemony Snicket's real name is Daniel Handler. Lemony Snicket is the pseudonym he uses for the books, but under his real name, Handler has written two produced screenplays, "Rick" and "Kill the Poor." The only one that's available on DVD is "Rick," so I'll be renting that one soon.
Jim Carrey was probably miscast as the villainous "Count Olaf," but he plays the role with gusto, and it's hard not to admire his energetic performance. Meryl Streep is good as the hypochondriac "Aunt Josephine," but her performance is a bit on the annoying side. Billy Connolly is awesome as "Uncle Monty," though he isn't in the film as much as I would have liked. There are a few people in the film who have even smaller roles (to the point of being mere extras), and they're played by people who I would have liked to see more of, namely Luis Guzmán, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jane Adams. I have a feeling that their roles were bigger, but a lot of it ended up on the cutting room floor.
The orphaned siblings are played by Emily Browning ("Violet Baudelaire"), Liam Aiken ("Klaus Baudelaire"), and Kara and Shelby Hoffman (twins who alternate playing "Sunny Baudelaire"). The twins are adorable as "Sunny," but I can't really say much about the acting. However, Emily Browning and Liam Aiken are quite good. Emily Browning, I believe, is about to be a star. She's only 16 years old, but her beauty and talent will take her very far in Hollywood.
Just so you know, Jude Law (who has been in just about every movie released in 2004) provides the voice (and silhouette) of Lemony Snicket, who narrates the film. Also, there's a cameo in the film, but it's perhaps the most blatant and gratuitous cameo ever. I won't say who it is, I'll only say that it's someone who has been in one of the director's previous films.
The movie is based on the first three books, and since the books are supposed to reach 13 volumes, we can probably expect a sequel or two. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but the feature film version of Lemony Snicket's books are off to a pretty good start.
Scale of 1-10: 8