Director: Michael Lembeck
Screenplay: Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
Genre: Fantasy - Family - Comedy
Country: USA/Canada
Certification: PG
Language: English


MAIN CAST:

Dwayne Johnson [Derek Thompson - Tooth Fairy]
Ashley Judd [Carly]
Chase Ellison [Randy]
Destiny Whitlock [Tess]
Stephen Merchant [Tracy]
Julie Andrews ... [Lily]


SUMMARY:

Derek Thompson, an aging hockey player with a massive chip on his shoulder, carelessly dishes out words of wisdom to children who look up to him without ever pausing to consider their feelings, or how it will affect them later on in life.

When he carelessly tells his girlfriend's daughter that the Tooth Fairy doesn't actually exist, he ends up being given a summons to appear in 'Tooth Fairyland' where he is promptly accused of destroying children's beliefs in fairies... a crime which carries a one week 'Tooth Fairy Duty' penalty. However, when Derek interrupts the Tooth Fairy Administrator, she adds another week to his punishment... warning him that unless he does his job well, he'll be sporting his Tooth Fairy wings for a very long time.

Annoyed and frustrated by this turn of events, Derek's life is turned upside down when his 'Tooth Fairy' life begins to take over his 'real' life.


MAIN CHARACTERS:

Derek Thompson [Dwayne Johnson] isn't really a bad guy. He tends to walk around with a massive chip on his shoulder, and is quick to discourage children from believing in fairytales or even daring to dream of success... but there's a reason for this. Derek could have been a star hockey player had he not injured himself and been sent to the team's junior club for rehabilitation. Disappointed by this turn of events, instead of working hard and trying to make it back into the major league, Derek gave up on his dreams and settled for much less than he was capable of. Because of this, he has become somewhat disenchanted with life in general, and believes that he would have been happier had he never possessed dreams of being a hockey star. Therefore, truly believing that he is doing children a favour by telling them that they don't stand a chance of making their dreams come true, he honestly thinks that he is helping them... just as he thinks that he's helping Tess by telling her that the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist.

Carly [Ashley Judd] is Derek's girlfriend, and loves him deeply... she has hopes that they might one day get married. However, although her young daughter loves him, her son is not so keen on having Derek around. Knowing that they will never become a 'family' as long as her son and Derek are at odds, she throws the two of them together in the hopes that they can iron our their differences and become friends.

Randy [Chase Ellison] is very much your average teen suffering from puberty-induced angst. He's a bit annoyed at having to deal with his mother's boyfriends. Every time she gets a new boyfriend, he's forced to deal with the new 'man' in her life, and he hates having to endure their attempts at winning him over for the sake of winning over his mum. Randy believes that Derek is the same as all the others, and really couldn't be bothered trying to befriend him because, eventually, his mother will probably move on to another boyfriend. Randy has his own problems to deal with, and doesn't want to be involved in his mother's relationship with Derek... all he wants is to be allowed to wallow in his own misery... as teens do.

Tess [Destiny Whitlock] absolutely adores Derek, and is hoping that her mother will marry him. She loves Derek and looks up to him, however, he often confuses her... especially when he says that Tooth Fairies don't exist.

Tracy [Stephen Merchant] is the wingless caseworker fairy who has been given the task of overseeing Derek in his new duties. Tracy, although generally good-natured and kind with everyone, is hurting inside. He wishes desperately that he had wings and could be a 'Tooth' fairy... the unfairness of it all wounds him deeply, and at times he suffers from a touch of envy. Luckily for him, no one has ever noticed that he secretly envies the other fairies... until Derek arrives and he is forced to look deep down into his heart. Although they are constantly at odds, they very much share the same problem... they are dissatisfied with their lives.

Lily [Julie Andrews] is upset with Derek. Although he is a likable sort, getting through to him is proving futile. She has attempted to make him understand the importance of children possessing dreams, but without success. Derek is stubborn... but then again, so is she.


THUMBS UP:

Very much in the same vein as 'The Game Plan', although not as good [take the hint... if you didn't like The Game Plan, you most definitely are not going to like this one], 'The Tooth Fairy' is your average uncomplicated, and sometimes funny, 'family' movie.

There are no surprises here - there is a lesson for children and adults alike to be learned. What is this lesson... actually, there are a few: Never give up hope. Dare to dream. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. There are probably a few others, but honestly, I don't think it's necessary to go through them all.

The general feel of this movie is pretty good. It possesses a good atmosphere, and the story isn't all that bad either. What you will have guessed... surely... is that the comedic aspect of this movie relies almost entirely upon the visuals - Dwayne Johnson sporting a pink tutu and fairy wings [now there's something you're not liable to see again], and although the humour is very juvenile and will undoubtedly work better on children aged between 5 and 12, there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments for the adults.

Continuing with the visuals, Dwayne's highly expressive features are worthy of a few laughs along the way, and although his acting is somewhat stiff and superficial at times, much like the character he is playing, his ability to work the one-liners and deliver the punch lines is extremely good.

Another plus has got to be the funny situations the main character gets himself into, and the addition of 'magical' tools such as shrinking paste, invisibility spray, dog barking sweets, a really loud anti-cat siren, and a few other imaginative items guarantee laughs from one and all.

The special-effects aren't extraordinary but they are suitably satisfying, the dialogue is good, as is the storyline, and the makeup and costumes are worthy of a few giggles.


THUMBS DOWN:

The special-effects leave to be desired at times... I swear I could almost see the ropes holding Dwayne up when he was flying, and I glimpsed a continuity problem with one of Dwayne's fairy wings which disappeared during a scene.

The story, obviously meant to remain simple because of the movie's PG rating, is somewhat laughably amateurish at times. An example... Tracy, the caseworker fairy, tells Derek that he can't be a 'Tooth' fairy because he was born without wings, however, Derek has wings and he isn't a real fairy.

Much of the acting is ordinary... Chase Ellison isn't very convincing in his role as the angst-ridden teen, which can't be chalked down to inexperience because he has appeared in 'Santa Jr.', 'Wristcutters: A Love Story', and a few very popular television series including 'Malcolm in the Middle' and 'Deadwood'. Perhaps if he had toned the 'angst' down a bit and went for a less melodramatic approach he might have been more believable. Shame on the director for not 'directing' Chase as he should have.

Dwayne Johnson was also quite subdued when it came to his acting... he kept wavering between 'nice guy' and 'a**hole', and at one point I gave up trying to understand what made his character tick. There was very little depth to Derek Thompson, but maybe that's what the writers and director intended, to focus on the shallowness of the character and his incredible vanity. If that is what they intended, then they succeeded, however, this did not make him wholly 'likeable'.

'The Tooth Fairy' is quite lightweight when it comes to comedies, and follows a strict formula that is meant to win over a younger crowd, and to bank on families making this a summer hit if for no other reason than Dwayne Johnson is in it and looks absolutely ridiculous with fluffy fairy wings.


COMMENTS - OPINION:

'The Tooth Fairy' is not going to win any awards, the Americans have already labelled it a 'flop', but I'm not prepared to trash this movie.

First of all... we're talking Dwayne Johnson here... an actor with incredible facial expressions and the ability to laugh at himself. He doesn't take himself too seriously, and as far as comedies go, he's quite capable of delivering a funny line and making the coldest viewer crack a smile. Sit a few children down in front of a Johnson comedy, and you'll hear laughter... and that's what it's all about. Children will not criticise 'The Tooth Fairy', and that's all that counts because this movie is aimed at them.

I wasn't expecting much from this movie... only to be entertained... and if I laughed out loud a few times, then I would be satisfied with that. What I wanted was for my children to have fun with this movie, and they definitely did. I wasn't disappointed... the children loved this movie, and I even laughed aloud a few times.

With a 101 minute runtime, 'The Tooth Fairy' is neither too long nor too short. There is just so much to see, so many fantastic visuals, funny situations and snappy one-liners that it is impossible to be bored. True, the story has holes in it, the acting isn't all that great, but hey... this is a family movie and well worth the money spent to hear the children laugh.