It might look like a musical and talk like a musical, but stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat don’t sing at all in this latest version of the story that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. What you also won’t find is a lot of intellectual depth, as director Andy Tennant (Ever After) dumbs down issues of cultural imperialism and politics in favor of romance. With its elaborate costumes and foreign locales, this is the kind of exotic eye candy that doesn’t always make for a satisfying meal.
