Mary Poppins Returns

A delightful and entertaining sequel that will surely please the children and those that approach it with a child-like mindset and enthusiasm. Emily Blunt was outstanding and she and her pompous, pious, British accent was a perfect substitute for Julie Andrews. She deserved a nomination for Best Actress just for all the hard work the role seemed to entail (and if Meryl Streep can get a nom for “The Devil Wears Prada” and Emma Stone a win for “La La Land”, Blunt can get a nom for this; the Golden Globes should be a cinch!). However, what the film lacked compared to the 1964 classic, was a pair of leads that had chemistry and could command the screen together, that could really sing and not just carry a tune (as competent as Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda were, and the latter was also a separate issue entirely), adult characters that were less annoying and less “real” (it is a children’s film anyway...think “Paddington”, where adult characters should be caricatures), and most importantly, songs that were memorable, catchy and sing-a-long-able. Other than Blunt, the children, Julie Walters and Colin Firth, all the other actors were miscast. Miranda lacked charisma and beyond an “Hamilton”-esque rap, he could not really carry a show tune. Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer just did not look like they were having fun. And Meryl...just chewed the scene but was utterly redundant and superfluous to the already simple and straightforward plot. More time really should have been spent with Blunt and the children. Unfortunately, that time would not have been well spent if better songs were not written for the film. You know you are in trouble when audience comes out from the theatre singing tunes from the first film instead. Regardless, for all its fault, accepting the film for what it was and approaching it with the right mentality, it was a fun, enjoyable, albeit ultimately forgettable, family film. Bring the children, have a laugh then go watch “Roma” or “The Favourite”.