The Star of Bethlehem (2007)

*Get "The Star of Bethlehem" on Amazon here*

I guarantee the amount you enjoy this film is related to the amount of faith you have in its subject.

Aping Al Gore's monumentally successful (and now debunked) "An Inconvenient Truth," lawyer Frederick A. Larson also presents a slide show about a subject. That subject is whether or not the star of Bethlehem, which brought the three (or so) wise men from the east to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ was real. Larson does not have Gore's live audiences, so he presents his findings in a library to a small gathering. Larson is the first to tell us he is not an astronomer. He is a lawyer. He started doing research on a whim, after refusing a neighborhood boy's efforts to decorate his lawn with non-Christian Christmas decorations. Larson wanted to display the star, and began to do a little research. Well, thank goodness for the age of the computer. Larson began to read the Bible very closely, not for theology but for time clues about what was seen in the sky back then, and when. Using computer software, he is able to reconstruct what was seen, and eventually rule out hypotheses such as comets and exploding stars. Taking the Book of Matthew as his word-for-word starting point, Larson is able not only to explain the star, but also what was going on in the sky when Jesus was crucified as well.

The documentary is not a bunch of talking heads and questionable Biblical scholars. Larson gives his talk, which never bored, and then illustrated his findings with his animated vistas of the night sky. Intercut with his lecture is footage of Larson reenacting his moments of discovery, all put to a very impressive soundtrack by Julie Davison Larson. Most documentaries I see on the Bible fall into two camps. One has the frothing evangelist foreseeing the end of the world unless I send them money, and the other has liberal scholars explaining away miracles dismissively through science, making one wonder what drew them to study the Bible in the first place. Larson and the film makers here are a little different. The project is very short, barely an hour, but is also very earnest in their beliefs. Larson is not damning anyone to an eternity in pools of fire for not believing, and he does not look down his nose at the other theories that are presented about the star. He takes the facts he has, interprets them, and presents what he finds- which is very convincing. He is easy to listen to, and passionate about what he found, talking honestly about how he surprised even himself with what he learned.

To put it simply, if you are an atheist, you are not going to believe Larson's presentation. But if you are a practicing or lapsed Christian, looking to expand your knowledge of the Gospel aside from yet another Bible study program, you might want to give "The Star of Bethlehem" a look.

Enchanted (2007)

*Get "Enchanted" on Amazon here*

As the older brother who was stuck taking my younger siblings to all those Saturday matinees back in the day, I am overly familiar with the Disney animated output. I know every whitewashed fairy tale, every catchy song, and every talking woodland creature. So with weary trepidation, I turned to "Enchanted," and I have been smiling ever since the "The End" credit rolled.

In the magical kingdom of Andalusia, Giselle (voice of Amy Adams) is swept off her feet by local prince/heroic troll hunter Edward (voice of James Marsden). The two fall instantly in fairy tale love, and plan to marry the next day. Evil Queen Narissa (voice of Susan Sarandon) is against the marriage, dresses like an old hag, and sends Giselle down a magical well which leads to a manhole cover in the middle of Times Square in New York City. Another problem, Giselle (Amy Adams) is no longer animated, she is real but burdened with story book sensibilities. As Giselle wanders around the city, she meets sad divorce lawyer Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his young daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey). Robert plans to ask girlfriend Nancy (Idina Menzel) to marry him but Giselle quickly complicates their relationship with her naivete. Prince Edward (James Marsden) follows Giselle through the well and begins looking for her, as does buffoonish Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), sent by Narissa to kill Giselle with poison apples. Robert begins to fall for Giselle despite his harsh outlook on love, and after Nathaniel fails one time too many, Queen Narissa herself makes a grand entrance in Times Square.

Writer Bill Kelly and director Kevin Lima could have taken the easy way out. They could have turned this into a weak "Shrek" knock-off (a film series whose success astonished me) or "Airplane!" it up and make "Princess Movie" complete with fart jokes, a Pamela Anderson cameo, and an unrated DVD release. Instead, respect (but not false reverence) is shown, keeping the story familiar but never making fun of the audience that enjoyed "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty;" the same audience that turned the Disney brand into an icon. Many sequences in the film are just nutty genius. Giselle making do with city animals to clean Robert's apartment was hilarious. The live action dance numbers are fun and catchy. Even the maligned action finale, which Disney used to do in their classic animated fare to give the little boys and older brothers in the audience something to enjoy, is handled well, with Sarandon making the most of her brief live action screen time. A nice medium is struck between Giselle and Edward's idealistic love and Robert's harsher reality without the audience being pummelled into submission with the message. Even the character Nancy is handled correctly, as the film makers fight the urge to turn her into a shrewish evil stepmother in training. Adams is all sorts of fun as Giselle, striking a ridiculously sympathetic chord. Covey is thankfully not overly cute in the daughter role, but I wish Dempsey had put a bit more pep into Robert- oh, what Ben Stiller could have done with this role. Spall is merely okay, but my greatest enjoyment was watching James Marsden as the charming prince. Just like Adams' Giselle, Marsden also does not play the role "stupid" but invigorates every scene he is in- from the bus scene, to mistaking a seedy hotel room's television for a magic mirror. This is his best role since the underrated "The 24th Day."

The goodwill and talent of the cast and crew more than make up for the film's occasional hiccup. "Enchanted" is a wonderful surprise. Followed by a sequel.

FILM & TELEVISION REVIEW INDEX (in progress)

#
41 (2007)

A
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
Another Body (2023)

B
Because I Said So (2007)
Bloody Current Exchange (2007)
Born to Kill? {"Fred West" #1.1} (2005)
Bride Hard (2025)

E
Enchanted (2007)

M
Making a Monster {"Rose West" #1.1} (2020)
The Man in the Lighthouse (2007)
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Monster in My Family {"John Wayne Gacy" #1.6} (2015)
Montana Sky (2007)

S
The Soham Murders (2023)
The Star of Bethlehem (2007)