MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM

This is the crux of the story: it will be sad if Mr. Magorium dies and the Wonder Emporium closes. Well, duh.

I must confess that I was super-excited to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I loved the vintage-looking toys that lined the aisles of Target at Christmastime, and we all know that I love Jason Bateman, no matter what he's up to. When I finally got my hands on it, I was further sold by the opening credits, which are reminiscent of wonky old movies like There's a Zebra in the Kitchen. Then the story got going, and I lost my sparkle.

I understood the movie to be about the passing of the Wonder Emporium from the 243 year old Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) to his reluctant assistant Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman). This much is correct, but I also assumed there would be some sort of juicy conflict that would prevent this transition from taking place smoothly. I thought maybe Jason Bateman would be the evil accountant whose rigid adherence to proper business practices would threaten the store. At the very least I thought he might come in with a fistful of receipts, shake them at Mr. Magorium and shout, "Your records are all messed up! I'm calling the IRS!" Instead, the whole movie is pretty milquetoast.

At the start of the film, Molly is just beginning to realize that she needs to make a change in her life. She was a piano prodigy as a child, but at twenty-three she's not exactly living up to everyone's expectations. She's still managing the magic toy store where she's worked since she was a teenager, and she hasn't been able to finish the concerto she's been composing for years. Fearing she's lost her sparkle, Molly decides to tell Mr. Magorium it's time for her to move on. That's when Mr. Magorium turns the tables and announces that it's time for him to leave (i.e. die) because he's just worn out the last pair in his lifetime supply of shoes. He intends to give the store to Molly, and has hired Henry (Jason Bateman) to help straighten out the books. Though he's a bit buttoned-up, Henry is far from evil. In fact, he's actually quite sweet.

Naturally Molly is quite distressed. She's not sure she even wants the store, and she's certain that she's not ready to lose Mr. Magorium. Also concerned about the store is Zach Mills (Eric Applebaum), a precocious little boy who just can't seem to fit in with kids his own age. Without the store and its staff, he'll be all alone with his hat collection. This is the crux of the story: it will be sad if Mr. Magorium dies and the Wonder Emporium closes. Well, duh.

The store itself is pretty impressive, and visually the movie is absolutely lovely. Who wouldn't want to immerse themselves in this whimsical world where anything is possible? The cast certainly makes a noble attempt at bringing the characters to life - it's just a shame that the story doesn't carry more weight. I hate to say that it's too nice, but at a certain point its middle-of-the-roadness becomes boring. Zach is supposed to have this huge problem making friends with other children, but as far as I can tell, he doesn't want to be friends with other children. Nothing about him screams freak!, and it seems he's just an intelligent, articulate boy who prefers solitude or the company of adults. Not much of a crisis, if you think about it. None of the characters are without warmth or passion, and the transformations that take place with them are minute. After a mildly rough patch, nice things happen to nice people. The end.

I'd like to say that the movie will go over better with children, but the magic never really takes hold. The lack of urgency in the storytelling is likely to lose even the most earnest viewer. Nothing really hangs on the loss of the Wonder Emporium, and even though we know it will be saved in the end, I'm pretty sure the surviving characters would have gone on to lead successful and worthwhile lives without it. Those are the stakes when you play it safe.