Annie

Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie has conquered the comic strips, radio and the Broadway stage. While the plucky little heroine and her dog, Sandy, can take on just about any foe imaginable, the big screen still eludes her.

It's not for lack for trying. The great John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The Man Who Would Be King) made his first and only musical with his 1982 adaptation, and it's easy to see why he quickly returned to the dark tales he normally spun. He had little idea of how to stage actors, and his leading lady seemed more programmed than earnest. Perhaps the only movie that has done Annie justice is A Christmas Story, in that it reveals the hold she had over Depression-era audiences. With that in mind, a remake could be worthwhile. The economic conditions that made audiences cheer for her in the 1930s are reflected in our own age. In addition, good songs are good songs, regardless of when they are written.

The Annie that opens across the country today is credited to director Will Gluck, but it seems to have been assembled by a committee of people who have never met. The soundtrack is a scramble of the Broadway songs with a hip-hop beat and new tunes by talented tunesmiths like Sia that leave little impression.

It also doesn't help that some of the performers are obviously not singers. Broadway melodies require singers who can project and handle a wide range. While Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) is appropriately spunky and lovable as the title charter, AutoTune can't hide her limited grasp of pitch.

Like Huston before him, Gluck has little idea of how to shoot or edit dance sequences. The extended numbers are underwhelming, and the plotline isn't that engaging either.

This time around, the orphan in question is stuck in a foster home instead of an orphanage. Hannigan (Cameron Diaz, trying to fill the very large shoes occupied by Carol Burnett in the previous movie) is a failed singer who takes out her frustration on the girls in her care. She isn't up to the challenge, but she, Gluck and co-screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna try to humanize Hannigan by giving her a heart she hasn't had before. It's about the only interesting touch this new production has.

Annie doesn't have to suffer from Hannigan's neglect and cruelty long. A cellphone provider billionaire Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx, who appears to be the only real singer in the cast) saves Annie from being run over by a car, so his handlers Grace (Rose Byrne) and Guy (Bobby Cannavale) realize the adorable waif is exactly what Stacks needs to save his sinking New York mayoral campaign. Voters know he's trying to buy his way into office, so the youngster might be what he needs to win them over, if she doesn't win Stacks over first.

After enduring a campaign full of relentless mudslinging, it's a little difficult to care if Stacks takes over the mayor's office. Gluck seems to be straining to reach the two-hour running time. Sandy and other bits of Annie lore seem to have been added as an afterthought. Why bother to include the dog at all if you can't give it something interesting to do?

It's a safe bet the internal Sony memos on Annie due to be leaked at any moment will be more entertaining than the film itself.

MovieStyle on 12/19/2014