neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Pinocchio
	Roberto Benigni Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Carlo Giuffrè 2002		The spry Italian comedian Roberto Benigni earned lots of good will for his Oscar-winning Holocaust film, "Life Is Beautiful," but that doesn't absolve him from a colossal misstep like his embarrassing live-action version of Carlo Collodi's "Pinocchio." Directed and written by Benigni, this tiresome, disjointed interpretation of the hoary fairy tale is so many different kinds of awful that it marks a new low in superstar hubris. Biggest problem: Hyperactive, grinning, middle-aged Benigni — sans makeup or computer enhancement — as the enchanted, dim wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy. There's no attempt to make you believe the annoying Benigni-as-Pinocchio is carved from wood, although there are digital effects, including scores of white mice who pull the coach of the Blue Fairy (Nicoletta Braschi, Benigni's wife). Released in the U.S. with an English-language track, it also suffers from bad voice casting and atrocious dubbing: Breckin Meyer is totally wrong as Benigni's voice, and Glenn Close (Blue Fairy) and John Cleese (Cricket) should fire their agents. Everything in the film BUT Benigni is wooden. A misbegotten idea, ineptly done.