Valentine’s Day may be a rather silly holiday, but it is a wonderful excuse to celebrate love and romance in the movies. In that spirit, check back each day leading up to February 14th for a cinematic advent calendar of recommendations presented as mini-reviews.
Day 9: Stardust (2007)
Dir. Matthew Vaughan
Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer
Logline: A young man must venture into a fantastical world in order to retrieve a fallen star and win the heart of his unrequited love, but he soon finds the task is far more dangerous than he expected.
Why you should watch: The general Disney-fication of fairy tales, when their rougher edges and darker moments are sanded away, has led to the rather sad state of the phrase “fairy tale” bringing to mind an assortment of outdated tropes. Underwritten damsels in distress, violently masculinized princes, and queer-coded villains abound. It is this hapless circumstance that makes tongue-in-cheek fairy tales for older audiences all the more satisfying. Picking up the standard from The Princess Bride (1987), Stardust (2007) delivers one of the richest and fairy tale send-ups of recent memory by accomplishing a rare feat—it is simultaneously a biting commentary on fairy tales and a bang-up entry in the genre it critiques. Director Matthew Vaughan builds from the pristine narrative foundation of Neil Gaiman’s novel, balancing swashbuckling action with swoon-worthy romance at every turn.
Helping Vaughan out is a roster of obscenely talented actors. Leading the way are Charlie Cox and Claire Danes as two corners of an absolutely classic love triangle. Cox’s Tristan is supposed to deliver a fallen star to mean girl Victoria (Siena Miller) to prove his love, but the star ends up being Dane’s Yvaine. What a surprise for all of us that the star is in fact not a lump of steaming rock, but instead the suave and delightful Danes. Nonetheless, as they make their journey back to town they are pursued by both evil witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) and vicious prince Septimus (Mark Strong). Strong is always delicious in villainous roles, and this is no different, but it is Pfeiffer’s show every moment she flounces on screen. Not since her turn as Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992) has anyone had such a ball being bad. Throw in narration from Ian McKellen, a glorious cameo from Peter O’Toole, and Robert De Niro as a sky pirate named Captain Shakespeare, and it adds up to a bloody good time.
Stardust is a standard entry in my personal rewatchable canon because it has, for lack of a better word, vibes to spare. With a glass of wine and this movie, it’s impossible to be in a bad mood.
Where you can watch: Streaming on Netflix. Rent on Apple, YouTube, and elsewhere.
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Devin McGrath-Conwell holds a B.A. in Film / English from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting from Emerson College. His obsessions include all things horror, David Lynch, the darkest of satires, and Billy Joel. Devin’s writing has also appeared in publications such as Filmhounds Magazine, Film Cred, Horror Homeroom, and Cinema Scholars.
