I didn’t hang with this much past the opening prologue, mostly because that included everything good the movie had to offer: Stephen Sondheim’s elegant introductory number, which weaves together a number of character solos, and Meryl Streep’s thrilling appearance as an evil witch. After that, we get a lot of sets that seem borrowed from the Broadway stage; painful attempts at Princess Bride humor from the likes of Chris Pine; and musical numbers that veer toward the operatic, then turgid. Even Streep eventually begins to wear out her welcome. She’s fun at first and proves – yet again – that she can sing, but in the end she’s no Mother Gothel (or Maleficent).
