Annie (2014) – Why the Bad Rating?
Category: Family/Comedy
Actors: Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas, Cameron Diaz, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Nicolette Pierini, Eden Duncan-Smith, Amanda Troya, Dorian Missick, Tracie Thoms, Mike Birbiglia, Stephanie Kurtzuba
Duration: 118 min
Rated: PG
You might Like this Movie if you enjoyed:
It Take Two (1995), Matilda (1996)
Long Story Short:
Annie is a foster kid dreaming of finding her true parents. When she crosses paths with the rich and eccentric Will Stacks, who is running for mayor her life changes drastically, because his advisor is suggesting to take her in to better Stack’s public image.
Review:
Annie is another remake of the beloved musical which has been brought to life for the third time in the past three decades: the first one was released in 1982 and the Walt Disney version came out in 1999. The twist in this one – I am sure you have noticed – the main characters are black.
Is that a bad thing? Not at all. It might actually be a welcome change to not see black characters in a tragic movie about slavery or drugs, which are usually the ones that get attention.
Does it mock the original movie version of Annie? According to some very hateful tweets it does, but I don’t think it does, if even, I believe it opens a door for all the other kids in the world who can identify themselves with the new Annie. Annie doesn’t have a color; Annie is a kid with hopes and dreams, and even though these dreams don’t seem to come true, she never gives up, and keeps a positive attitude about life. But patience, perseverance, and her kind heart eventually open the door of happiness for her.
Even if we don’t know the story, it is very easy to guess how this movie ends. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot. It made me smile, laugh, and if I wasn’t a robot (most of the time) I even would have cried a little. I actually went to see it twice to show extra support, since I believe the bad reviews it received were absolutely unfair and made people stay away; some may have not given it a chance, because they felt like they disrespect the 1982- version if they go and see this one. Pure stupidity. It is a whole different take, set at present times and targeted to the newer generation.
Cameron Diaz – often mentioned as miscast – did a great job, especially towards the end. I have to admit, the evil foster mother doesn’t fit her very well, but her character had a soft side which made it perfect for her.
Fun Fact: Originally, Sandra Bullock was offered the role, but she turned it down since she dislikes musicals.
Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhané Wallis are terrific and so much fun to watch. Quvenzhané is a superstar, and with only 11 years old I can see her competing with the big names, which is why she is nominated for a Golden Globe. One thing I have to criticize about her acting is that a few times I wished her facial expressions were a little stronger. In those few scenes it seemed like she got her role confused with the one of the girl in Beasts of the Southern Wild – another great movie, but a total different character. The blank faces worked there, but not for Annie.
Another character I enjoyed was Grace, played by Rose Byrne. Byrne played her part well, and is an amazing actress.
The songs are great, and even though the movie is almost two hours long it never gets boring.
Why did it get such a bad rating? I am guessing because everyone refers to it as “the new Annie”, not just Annie. It is normal that the new always gets compared to the old. While the old one was cute, the new one is more hip. And I am sure had they stuck more to the original, people would have wondered why it was even made. I think the skin color of the “new” Annie plays a significant part as well. It’s a shame that color still matters. We are all the same, no matter how we look.
Annie is a sweet, wonderful movie, and a great way to start the new year. It is also the perfect movie for the holidays. The last time I went to the movies on Christmas I watched Django Unchained and Les Miserables, so much for getting into the holiday spirit.
Stop comparing and enjoy this movie for what it is: A wonderful experience.
Rating: 7/10
Top Posts & Pages
Blogs I Follow
•Sϊmȯn•Sӓyz• 
I missed this one – I don’t know the old one, and so when I watch this, it will be the only Annie 😀
Hahaha. Let me know how you liked.
Btw, among the foreign movies you are going to watch, I would like to highly recommend this one with subtitles 🙂 https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/mili/
From what I read a lot of people weren’t too impressed with Annie’s singing… and I honestly don’t think it had anything to do with her color… sometimes people just don’t like the remakes… Look at The Day the Earth Stood Still… from what I read the remake bombed… as well it should have since the original was amazing and they thought they could do better just by going crazy with the special effects… psh… like that would work… in fact it seems like a lot of the remakes they’ve been doing lately have been a big disappointment to people… I think Hollywood might should focus on making something new instead of redoing what’s already been done… true it’s impossible to truly be original anymore… but they could try…
Oh yeah, that is so true… Hollywood should definitely slow down on all the remakes. I am not sure if you have read all the tweets about her being black, but it actually did play a big part. It was very bad. It is true, her singing is not award worthy, and Cameron Diaz shouldn’t think about a singing career either, but for some reason that’s why I liked it, everyone could have sang these parts and therefore I felt kind of connected to the characters. Does that make sense?
Jamie Foxx was the only true singer in the movie gave me chills.
It is actually funny, when you look at the beginning, they make it look like the Caucasian Annie is a different person, because she is in the movie, too, for a about 5 seconds. Well, there is a white girl with red hair named Annie.
Do you know a remake that was actually worth watching?
hmm… you know RoboCop was pretty awesome… I was never a huge fan of the originals but even those that did love them seemed to really like this movie too… Total Recall was pretty good…
but you know I was super disappointed in Dredd… of course I might be the only person who liked the original… and surprisingly all the reviews I’ve read on Dredd were saying it was awesome… but I could barely make it through it… talking painful to watch… after the first few minutes I was having trouble even paying attention… and the whole not taking his helmet off was ridiculous… though of course the pretty girl had a lame excuse as to why she couldn’t wear a helmet… personally think they should’ve focused more on who Judge is… I couldn’t believe it was Karl Urban because I usually love his acting…
and no I haven’t read any tweets about it… I just read a few reviews… but then again Annie isn’t my favorite and I wasn’t going to watch it regardless…
oh and do you have search bar on your site… I was trying to see if you’d actually reviewed any of these movies and to be honest I have trouble figuring out your set up…
hm, I thought there should be a search bar on the upper right… Is it not?
But I haven’t seen or reviewed any of the movies that you mentioned. Even though Robocop has been on my watch list for a while.
I haven’t planned on watching Total Recall but since you said it was good I might give it a shot.
Judge… meh, didn’t like the trailer, so probably not, and you confirmed it as well.
It is time for me to finish my book and submit it to agents, so we get an original! 😀
Oh, I think you should give Annie a shot,,, I have never seen or cared about the original, and only watched it a few weeks ago. And I still don’t care much for it. But I really liked the 2014 Annie.
well if I ever come across it I just might watch the new Annie… if nothing else I’ve always like Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx… both great actors…
oh yeah… didn’t you talk to me about self publishing? so you got yourself an agent or once you’re finished you’ll find one? and of course… what’s it about? sorry if you’ve already told me this before but I have a faulty memory…
That is perfectly fine. One is a book for the younger generation and deals with same sex parents and adopted children. Starring, two flamingos. And the one I am currently writing is a young adult novel and describes the lives of 5 people and their families dealing with HIV/AIDS. I would love to get an agent, I would also love to self publish and stir up so much controversy that I get invited to the Ellen Show! 🙂 Dreams!
the Ellen Show? well if you ever make it there don’t forget about your friend R.G. Dole… hehe… but have fun making waves…
Oh, absolutely! 😀