Via Towleroad, I found this rather silly review of Shrek the 3rd, complaining that the character of Cinderella's Ugly Stepsister is a transvestite meant to convince kids that homosexuality is okay. 
You can't really make this stuff up.
I'll leave it to others, over at those sites, to argue out the gender issues (especially, check out the fascinating discussion that's developed at Illinois Review - transgender issues are one of those areas where really weird prejudices crop up at the oddest times). I'd rather use this occasion to get to reviewing Shrek the 3rd.
And sing the praises of Doris, the ugly stepsister.
Doris made her first appearance in Shrek 2, as the bartender of a cheap dive just outside Far Far Away, and she was, well... one ugly stepsister. Though only in a few scenes, she was memorable, and she's back.
They're all back. Shrek the 3rd is a fun romp, but age and desperation are starting to show. In a summer of thirds (Spiderman 3 which I saw, and Pirates 3, which I won't), Shrek the 3rd fits the pattern - bloated, overthought and undercooked.
The film takes off from the death of the King - a frog prince, as you'll recall from 2, voiced by John Cleese (who gets Python-like mileage out of not being dead yet) - as either Shrek, or someone else, will inherit the throne of Far Far Away. The someone else turns out to be second cousin Arthur - yes, that Arthur - and Shrek and his sidekicks set off on a quest (ooooh) to bring him back.
Meanwhile, a pregnant Fiona gathers her fairytale Princess girlfriends for a baby shower - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel... and Doris. And here, again, the humor is at once great for kids, without slighting adults - amid many smart, sarcastic references, Snow White presents Fiona with a dwarf manny (it looks like Doc), and says "don't worry, I have six more like him at home".
Still, a fairytale needs drama, and again it's oft-denied Prince Charming who returns with other "misunderstood" villains to kidnap the Princesses and install himself on the throne. This where Shrek the 3rd either loses its way or drifts into fascinating surrealism, depending on your point of view, as Charming stages an elaborate theatrical musical to how his greatness and finish off Shrek once and for all. Can anyone say how we got here? I don't think so.
In a film made up of mainly of fleeting moments, it's the dozens of secondary characters who get in the zingers... including Doris, who is reunited at the end with sister Mabel. The Princesses don't make much of an impression, except for Snow White, characters come and go in the blink of an eye (the Arthurian legend bunch get especially shafted), and we're not close enough to anyone to care much about how this all turns out.
Among the familiar voices, Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy continue to amuse consistently, while Rupert Everett shines as Charming. But the whole show is stolen, oddly, by Justin Timberlake as Arthur, whose acting skills are turning out to be kind of, well, impressive (I never wrote my review of Alpha Dogs, but he was superb there too). And given my way in, let's not forget Larry King's Doris... or Regis Philbin's Mabel.
The problem here isn't trying to normalize transgender roles or to make ogres seem human; the problem with Shrek is that a sly, amusing premise has probably worn out its welcome. And that, after all, is the trouble with sequels. The sad part is that these characters have been a real treat; which is why, really, I'll miss old Doris, five-o-cock shadow and all.
I love daris and i always will
Posted by: hayley williams | February 25, 2016 at 01:41 PM