'Water For Elephants'

'Water For Elephants' (PG-13) (3 stars)

Writer: Richard LaGravenese based on novel By Sara Gruen
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook,
Tim Guinee, Jim Norton, Paul Schneider,

"Water For Elephants" is a dreamy, corny, old fashioned romantic drama and that doesn't have to be a bad thing. I was surprised that I liked it and when people accuse me of hating the so called chick flick, movies like this prove that opinion wrong. I assume women will be drawn to this more than men and that is a shame, this movie is a great date movie.

"Water For Elephants: is based on a popular novel and it's lead is someone I have been picking on lately. Robert Pattinson plays Jacob, a college student who wants to become a veterinarian but gets sidetracked when his Polish parents pass away. He climbs on board a freight train and meets some men who work for a circus. Jacob sneaks his way in and meets the tough circus owner who also has a beautiful wife named Marlena who Jacob starts to fancy. You know where this love triangle is going and the movie isn't brain surgery. It is thin, sugary and soapy but there is a lot of charm on screen that makes this surprisingly solid.

I am not a big fan of the pouty and stiff Robert Pattinson who looks good but in the past had the personality of a tree stump. I am happy to tell the screaming female Pattinson fans that I like him much better here. He still needs to loosen up and stop posing and pouting but he smiles here and gives more energy and gravitas to his performance. I can watch Reese Witherspoon in anything and here she is solid again in a role that is really not that strongly written. The movie is stolen by Christoph Waltz as the brutish husband. He is very mean to the circus animals and some humans and Waltz brings the same intensity he brought to "Inglorious Basterds" though in a more subtle form of brutality.

The movie is a little too melodramatic and has it's flaws but I love a lot of the technical aspects of the movie. The cinematography is breathtaking and beautiful and fits into the dreamy fable like telling of the story. The production design is flawless and while I am not a big fan of the circus it looked right. The music is dreamy and beautiful to listen to. These are some of the best at what they do, Rodrigo Prieto, Jack Fisk and James Newton Howard for cinematography, design and music. The writer Richard Lagravenese is one of my favorite writers ( best of Harry Potter series, Fabulous Baker Boys) and he is a great book to screen adapter, he improved on the book of "Bridges of Madison County".

I love how the animals are used in the story especially the main elephant who steals the story and gives it heart. "Water For Elephants" could have gone so wrong but it turns out to be sweet and lushly romantic. Kudos also to Hal Holbrook as the older Jacob who narrates the story. You might hate yourself for liking this movie the next day but the movie does earn your admiration.