September’s Overlooked Film

Chosen by: John C.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Release Date November 16th, 2007

Rated G

Running Time: 93 min

Zach Helm (dir.)

Zach Helm (screenplay)

Alexandre Desplat (music)

Aaron Zigman (music)

Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Edward Magorium, Avid Shoe-Wearer

Natalie Portman as Molly Mahoney, the Composer

Zach Mills as Eric Applebaum, the Hat Collector

Jason Bateman as Henry Weston, the Mutant

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Overlooked Film: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

By John C.

Zach Helm wrote the screenplay for Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium when he was in college, a few years before he wrote the brilliant screenplay for Stranger Than Fiction. Mr. Magorium is the story of the owner of an old toy store who wants to hand over his business to a young colleague. The film has a whimsical tone, but also deals with darker and more mature issues like death and moving on, but it does it in a way that people of all ages can understand and relate to. Dustin Hoffman gives a very good performance, never dumbing down just because he’s in a family film. One climatic dialogue-driven scene in particular, between Hoffman and co-star Natalie Portman, is just perfect. It’s touching and very moving. There are a few scenes that could have been tweaked a bit, but this is still an incredibly underrated and very good film.

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