Stardust

Some people are shop boys, and some people are boys who happen to work in shops. You, Tristan, are not a shop boy. -Yvaine

The best fairy tales take an ordinary boy or girl, living an ordinary life in an ordinary place, and take them somewhere fantastic, prove them to be someone exceptional, and take us along for the journey, reminding us what it was like to dream that our ordinary lives, our ordinary selves, could be transformed if the stars aligned just so.

Stardust is one of the best fairy tales I’ve seen in some time, and one of the best movies of the summer. This summer, we’ve seen cars that turn into giant robots, old cops who still die hard, boy wizards, undead pirates, amnesiac super spies, and an Emo Spider-Man, but Stardust is something unique: Stardust reminds us of when things were simple, when good was good, evil was evil, and life-and-death situations could be dealt with with the wry confidence that the good guys always win.

Our story begins when a star falls to earth, in the form of a beautiful young girl named Yvaine (Claire Danes). This begins a struggle between three individuals: Tristan, who has promised to retrieve the Star to prove his love for his would-be love, Victoria, Septimus, who can only take his place on the throne by capturing the Star’s necklace, and the cruel witch Lamia, who’s power and youth can only be restored by consuming the heart of a Star.

Sitting in the theater, I thought to myself that I might be watching this generation’s Princess Bride, which coming from me is strong praise indeed. Stardust isn’t as quotable as Bride, but it does shine in one area in particular: character arks. The one issue I have with The Princess Bride is that the two main characters never really change. Wesley goes from a humble farm-boy to the most feared pirate on the seas, but we never really see it happen, and Buttercup is the epitome of helpless damsel is distress for the run of the movie. In Stardust, we get the chance to watch our characters grow and change.

Tristan starts the movie as a shy, clumsy boy pining for the affection of Victoria, a manipulative, materialistic, shallow girl who’s only quality is being the most attractive girl in a rather small town. He begins her quest for the Star because Victoria has promised her hand in marriage if Tristan can retrieve it by her birthday. When Tristan discoverers that the Star is actually a girl, he promptly kidnaps her, intent to drag her back to the village of Wall and claim Victoria’s hand - though he does promise the return her to the sky once he is engaged. Along the way, however, Tristan becomes Yvaine’s protector, rather than captor, crosses paths with evil witches and cruel princes, is captured by a gay pirate (played wonderfully by Robert DeNiro, who is obviously having a great time), learns to fight and dance and love, and finally becomes a man.

Yvaine’s journey is just as important. She begins the story a haughty, sarcastic aristocrat, upset that she has been brought down to earth and rightfully angry at Tristan’s behavior. Through the course of the story, though, we learn just what it takes to capture the heart of a Star, and just how powerful that heart can be.

The humor is funny, the action is rewarding, and the story is solid: Stardust comes highly recommended.