User Reviews

'ANNIE': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Modern-day adaptation of the 1977 Broadway musical (of the same name), which was based on the 1924 comic strip 'Little Orphan Annie'. It stars Quvenzhane Wallis (of 'BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD' fame), as Annie, and Jamie Foxx, as billionaire Will Stacks (an update on the Daddy Warbucks character, from the comic and musical). It costars Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz, Bobby Cannavale, David Zayas and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. It was directed by Will Gluck (who also directed 'EASY A' and 'FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS') and written by Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna. I don't think it's nearly as enjoyable as the 1982 film version (which I grew up on) but the music is still good (and there's three new songs).

The story, once again, centers on a ten-year-old orphan named Annie (Wallis). She lives at the home of a mean alcoholic, named Colleen Hannigan (Diaz), with four other foster children. Colleen is very abusive to the kids, constantly making them clean her apartment, and only takes care of them so she can collect money from the state. Annie dreams of being reunited with her parents, who promised they'd come back for her (long ago). She runs into New York City mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Foxx), while running home one day, and falls to the ground in the streets. Stacks saves her from being hit, by a truck, and the incident is caught on video. The video then goes viral and Stacks sees it as an excellent opportunity to save his failing campaign. An odd relationship develops between the two.

The film is filled with corny jokes, and bad acting, and it's even more cheesy than the 1982 movie (which I still love, for nostalgic reasons). The music is great, still though (especially my favorite: 'It's the Hard Knock Life'), and the movie does have a positive and upbeat message for kids (like it's source material). It's other saving grace is Quvenzhane Wallis, who has some really powerful scenes (towards the end of the film). She could have delivered another award worthy performance, if her part had been written a little better (she is nominated for a Golden Globe though, but doesn't quite deserve it). For those reasons the movie isn't horrible but the 1982 version is much better.

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Regarding the other versions of the classic Broadway hit, the 1982 film was one of my favourite films as a child and is still a personal favourite today while the 1999 film is also good and entertaining if a little short and sugary sweet in places. Annie(2014) certainly should be judged on its own merits and without any comparison as well as with an open mind. Seeing it without any prejudice, I do not think it is quite as bad as people has said but as an updating of the story and as a standalone it didn't work.

There are some good things here. The best thing about it is Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie, her singing is not brilliant but the energy, enthusiasm and feeling she gives to it is. She's consistently winning in the role and performs with much confidence and charisma with twinkling eyes and a bright smile, all this without falling into saccharine camp. Jamie Foxx has the best singing voice of the whole cast and is a likable Will Stacks, playing him with real authority and charm, coming across as appropriately over-serious to someone more relaxed later on. Sandy is also adorable and almost on par with the dog in the 1982 film, and I was charmed by the chemistry between Annie and Grace.

Unfortunately that's it for the things that work. The girls playing the other foster kids try their best but they do come over as over-eager and they don't have much to do, not to do with screen-time but with how they're directed(the only place they shine in some way is Hard Knock Life). Rose Byrne is a mixed bag, she is appropriately kindly and shares a charming chemistry with Wallis but she has very little to do really. Bobby Cannavale underplays the villain role so much that the performance comes across as one-note while Cameron Diaz is rather painful to watch as Miss Hannigan(and this is without any comparison). She's a talented actress but plays the character far too broadly, so over-the-top campy and obnoxiously strident that it makes the rest of the toned-down performances dull in comparison. Regarding the singing, the only one who impresses is Foxx, the rest of the adults can barely carry a tune and the singing in general sounds auto-tuned and in an all-too-obvious way(Easy Street is especially bad in this instance), "auto-tuned disaster" sums it up very aptly. The lip-synching is incredibly amateurish too with the performers' mouths moving at a different tine to the music.

The songs in the Broadway stage show and the 1982 and 1999 films are marvellous, ones with very catchy melodies that are easily hummable and lyrics that you can recite without problem very quickly. The songs that are included here are arranged in a way to make them more "current" but instead they are stripped of their heart and meaning due to the many things added to and taken away from them, some of them changed to the extent they're barely recognisable(like one or two signature lines a song being maintained but the melodies being completely swamped by polyrhythmic harmonies and sounds and even vastly inferior changes in lyrics). Tomorrow just about gets by but Hard Knock Life irritates and Easy Street is completely butchered. And then we have the added ones done especially for this film and while they're "current" they're forgettable at best and largely uninspired in style and writing with lyrics so inane it's enough to make one cringe. For anybody yet to see the film they'd think that there'd be a jarring difference in quality with the original songs and the added ones but you know something is horribly wrong when the originals are changed so much that they're actually on the same level in quality to the added ones, that's how much they've been cheapened by the arrangements. The choreography is both sloppy and chaotic, flailing arms being the most memorable and frequent movement of the lot, and apart from Foxx and to a lesser extent Wallis nobody looks natural dancing it. For example I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here looked like it was completely made up on the spot.

The equally chaotic and music-video-like production values don't help, most of the musical numbers especially Easy Street were very haphazardly edited, and neither does Will Gluck's leaden direction that has inexperience stamped all over it. The script is weak, with crass humour, cloying cutesiness and the once memorable and engaging characters reduced to bland clichés. The film does try hard to make the famous story relevant by today's standards, but by doing that the heart of the original story is lost and Annie's positivity amidst a harsh world doesn't resonate, which is really what the story and Annie's character is all about. Annie and Stacks's relationship never really grows, despite Foxx's best efforts if there was meant to be a character change for Stacks it wasn't believable while Miss Hannigan's back story suffered from some really clumsy and badly placed writing. The message is more cynical in alternative to heart-warming, handling the benefits of materialism idea very heavy-handedly, while the climatic helicopter chase is just ludicrous, completely devoid of tension and completely out of place compared to the rest of the film.

Overall, Annie(2014) is not THAT terrible but while it tries hard the execution for this viewer was awkward and sloppy. 4/10 Bethany Cox

It is unfortunate so much money (65 million) and so much talent (Quvenzhane Wallis, Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz) did not equal a better movie. A musical should have great singers; this did not. Foxx, the orphans and Quvenzhane were fine, but they were not great. Consider Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof and Oklahoma. Along with the actors singing in character, there were powerful voices. No one in Annie was a standout musically.

Rose Byrne did her job in Damages, but not so much in this movie. The remainder of the cast was competent; they had their occasional moments.

This rendition of Annie was okay. But, with a few cast changes and voice lessons, it could have been so much better.

The original Annie was and still is an exception movie so was interested to see what a modern remake would bring.

Well the simple answer is nothing. The cast of children don't look like poor kids with a hard knock life, rather the clean well fed model kids. The orphanage has 7 or 8 kids rather than the original 25-30 kids and Cameron Diaz is piór casting for Hannigan compared to Carol Burnet who was great in the original. The whole thing seemed like a weak unnecessary remake where I struggled to find any area that is an improvement on the original.

"Annie" is a modern day retelling of the acclaimed Broadway Musical and 1982 musical film based on the show, which was based on the 1924 Comic Strip "Little Orphan Annie" which in the original show and movie, takes part during the Great Depression, telling the story of Orphan Annie - a pre-teenage hoping for a return of her parents, who disappeared after they left her on the steps of of an orphanage as a baby. In this version, which again takes place in the modern day, it is revealed in the early part of the film that Annie, played by Quvenzhané Wallis (Academy Award Nominee for the "Beasts of Southern Wild") was left as a baby at a restaurant by her parents, and is now a foster kid, under the care of Miss Hannigan, played by Cameron Diaz. The Billionaire character "Daddy Warbucks" of the classic story, has been replaced by the character of "Will Stacks", played by Jamie Foxx (Academy Award winner for "Ray"), who is also a Billionaire from his cell phone business, and is running for Mayor of New York City. So – leading up to this film, the predicted expectations were of gloom and doom, presumably I think because this version does not take place in the original time line, and because some people's now negative views (not mine) towards Actor/Rapper Will Smith, who co-produced the film with among others, his wife, Actress Jada Pinkett Smith, and Rapper and Business Mogel Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, whose sampled one of the Musical's more populars songs "It's a Hard Knocked Life" in his hit song "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)". So what did I think – While I admit – the movie does became a mess to a great deal, it is not a total mess, and could have been a lot worse. A lot of songs that many of us love are there and performed well by the cast, some with variations, some of which are understandably, and some which may have probably weren't necessary. There are some new songs as well, including the very touching "Who am I?" - sung by Diaz, Foxx and Wallis's characters in the later part of the film. Some of the modern day jokes, just some of the humor in general works well, and some falls flat. Kids should like this version of "Annie" just fine. Adults - I think most who are fans of the original are going to be annoyed by it. I myself am I fan of the Broadway show and 1982 Movie. While I obviously didn't love this version myself, again, While it does become a mess to a great deal,it's not a complete one. My rating is for the music, and some of the humor – 2 ½ out of 4 Stars (The ½ star is for the previously mentioned new song "Who am I?").

Cheap, cheesy knock off of what was a great musical. Horrible acting and worse directing. Just goes to show Hollywood is running out of original ideas so they are destroying well done classics and taunting them with corny jokes are bad actors. Don't waste your time. Watch the original with Albert Finney and Carol Burnett. Better than any remake.

-Annie is a modern adaptation of the Broadway Musical in which an orphan (foster child in this) who lives with the somewhat evil Mrs. Hannigan when, one day, she meets Mr. Warbucks (Will Stacks in this), a rich business man who takes Annie in and truly starts to learn what it is to have family.

-This adaptation of Annie is definitely a little ambitions, but I think they pulled it off well! I am a big fan of the 1994 film and I like this version about as much as that! -The story itself is different from the original somewhat, but the modern update called for some changes and I liked them.

-The pace was good, but there is a slow point in the film that is noticeable.

-The supporting characters, everyone but Annie, are a bit cheesy. And kinda goofy, but they are not too much over-the-top. There are a few elements like the characters that did feel geared towards younger audiences.

-The acting is good though. I noticed that both Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz both acted will in their over-the-top characters. I will say the true star was Annie though. I can't spell her name, but she outshined Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in most of the scenes. Good work! -Now the music is pretty great! I liked the updated music and, although not every original song was in it, I really liked the new songs they added! -The film is also very funny! I laughed at most of the jokes made and them adding jokes poking fun at musicals was very smart.

-It is rated PG for some mild language. Nowhere near as bad as like Rango.

-So Annie has a few elements that feel younger or cheesy, but I thought it was very fun, entertaining, and I loved the music! I honestly would give it a good 7.5 and say that Annie is totally worth seeing in theaters!

I saw Annie and it was fantastic! I know how some people say NOT to remake a classic, but Annie is the exception. I did not like the Karate Kid remake, but Annie 2014 gets an A+ from me!! Quvenzhané Wallis did a wonderful job in the lead role of Annie. You really feel for her character and care what happens to her. The musical numbers were great. I actually liked Jamie Foxx's character Will Stacks and I am NOT a Jamie Foxx fan. But I feel that he was meant to play the role with his background in singing, dancing, and acting. Cameron Diaz took her "Bad Teacher" character up a few notches and created a diabolical villain!! She is so mean, nasty, and heartless. It was special to see how the characters progressed throughout the film and at the end. People can change! The soundtrack has an Urban NY flavor to it that I love!! I'm going to buy the CD or DL it ASAP!! Not fair to compare 2014 to 1982 as the times are extremely different now as opposed to then. But if I had to choose 1982 or 2014. I'd definitely go with 2014!! It is a shame if racism is lowering the rating of Annie 2014. Critics can criticize this version of Annie, but it had a lot of HEART.

Annie is an age old story of an orphan struggling to survive and is magically swept off her feet by a reluctant grouch who suddenly gets a warm heart and yadda yadda yadda. Yes, an updated version of Annie sounded awesome and yes, some of us had hope for it. And HELL NO is this what Annie should have become. This is perhaps one of the most ridiculous, over produced, annoyingly unoriginal remakes in recent years. With a cast like this film, starring Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis, Cameron Diaz and Rose Byrne, this should have been a very competent film but it is so bogged down with a ridiculous hip-hop shroud of the musical numbers and poorly executed dance numbers that it is hard to take this seriously. The biggest culprit is Will Gluck, the man directs this with absolutely no flavor. It isn't hard to make the story of Annie heart warming, not in the very least. It is one of the best told stories along with being one of the best musicals of all time. Even if you were asleep at the wheel for most of the production, you could still get something out of it. Gluck fails to do pretty much everything when it comes to direction. It is lazy and unoriginal. To be frank, the only reason why I'm giving this a 3 instead of a 10 is Wallis' performance. She was truly awesome as Annie and it is a shame that the film wasn't even a fraction as good as her performance. Overall, this is a film that will more than likely have you pounding your fist against your head for the entire duration of the film...oh yeah, it is THAT bad.

Straight after the opening credits, a young, ginger-haired, pale girl called Annie is giving a presentation in class. She is congratulated and returns to her seat, up comes another young girl also called Annie (played by Quvenshane Wallis). However this time she is visually different with puffy brown hair and ethnic background. Thus, the baton is almost passed on from the predeceasing versions of Annie in this wink allowing it to do whatever it likes. And it does.

Annie is probably one of the best known musicals in history since its Broadway genesis in 1977. Since then, it has had television versions, books and two quite successful film adaptations, now this – a further remake of the musical classic. But why was it is remade yet again considering its status? Producers of the recent incarnation, Will Smith and Jay-Z, took to its defence stating that it is 'a modern re-imagination of a beloved musical' – which is reasonably fair.

If there had not been any versions of Annie beforehand, and this was its first appearance, then it would be a musical phenomenon in the likes of Frozen's success. Sadly, it is not, and will through generations of viewings always be comparable and given prejudice – which is never a good thing in the film industry – hence the awful receptions it has received so far as well as the many one-star reviews.

Similar to the original story, the central character Annie, has a fairly hard knock life (no pun intended). Nothing seems to have gone her way since she was abandoned at aged-four outside a restaurant. Since then, she has been in numerous fosters homes throughout New York – but currently in the care of Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz), who treats her unfairly and instead of kisses, gets kicked (still no pun intended).

Updated to the modern era, a phone business tycoon, William Stacks (Jamie Foxx), is running for Mayor of NYC and coincidentally meets Annie, and decided he should help her out. It all seems simple enough until you add the fact it is still a musical, and at every street corner, scenario and character development there is a catchy song around the corner lingering and ready to pounce. Of which, the star-studded cast all sing aloud (reasonably well, apart from the over-the-top Diaz – cringe).

Indefinite to always live in the shadow of its former versions, Annie could still prove to be a fairly popular family-film over Christmas. But overall, it is mediocre at the very best.

I thought this film was so rubbish and of course it's not going to be like the original Annie I understand that but it was so boring I couldn't wait to leave the cinema. There wasn't much of a proper story line to the film. It just looked like a budget, quick skim through of the original. The songs were song after one another but there was no real story line in between. I seriously wouldn't recommend wasting your money to watch this film it's not worth it. I love the film Annie and this one was a shambles. Maybe little children might enjoy it but it just dragged on. The acting was quite poor as well. It all looked very staged.

People who are not attached to the original material will find this version of Annie harmless fun at best. For me, however, this was just yet another missed opportunity. I've been fond of Annie, the Broadway musical, from the beginning. When the 1982 movie version came out, I found it a disappointment; the casting did not deliver, the story was clumsily handled, and some of the songs were changed but not for the better. This second big-screen effort was a major disappointment for me too. The only bright spot was that Quvenzhane Wallis was a slightly better fit for the title role than Aileen Quinn in 1982, despite her not having red curls and freckles. Her Annie, a foster child rather than an orphan, is more adorable than cute. The rest of the movie was an attempt to update the story at the expense of many of the musical's original songs, some of which may grow on you after a while. I do think two of the new songs should have been nominated for Oscars, namely The City's Yours and Who Am I? I actually prefer The City's Yours to the original's NYC which it replaced. However, the new storyline also took on a bit more than it could chew, and was not more engaging. The rest of the cast were okay, although some players came off as too earnest. The saddest thought is that this may mean the last attempt to make an Annie for the big screen, which will really be a big shame.

I don't know why some people don't like this movie! I don't think this movie is cheesy at all. I absolutely loved it! I love the modern take on it. I love the actors and actresses and all of the songs. I have watched it several times now. I love how Quvenzhané Wallis gives off the "okay, I don't care" act when things rise up against her character (Annie) in the movie. But as she walks away, you can see her true emotion of hurt or sadness show through. I think that shows what a good actress she is growing up to be. I love the modern take on the original songs as well as the new songs added. I think this is a very well made movie. I wish it had better reviews than it has been getting.

I thought the 1982 motion picture version of ANNIE was awful, right up there with THE WIZ, MAME and LOST HORIZON, but they are all classics compared to this piece of garbage! Who green lit this movie project? Jamie Foxx should be ashamed of himself to be in anything this terrible. Cameron Diez was equally bad. I love Rose Byrne, but I felt sorry for her being in this lousy movie. I admit I was spoiled by the magnificent motion picture version of INTO THE WOODS, so it made seeing this version of ANNIE even more horrible! The best version of ANNIE is the Disney T.V. production. Save your money and watch the way ANNIE should be starring Kathy Bates. I said this was one of the worst motion picture musicals ever made, but it is also one of worst movies of 2014.

The only reason I saw this absolute horror show was because I was paid to. I'd have rather gotten it from a torrent site, but I couldn't find a seeder. Jamie Foxx and the liberal left Hollywood have ruined another perfectly good movie because they're too stupid to come up with something original. But this is the trend, isn't it?

Shove a political message down our throat.

Shove these horrible remakes down our throat with politically correct casts and actors.

From what I understand, the girl that played Annie was an absolute spoiled brat.

Yeah ... she'll go far in that town. The bad ones always do.

If anyone needs me, I'll be bleaching my eyes.

This film is not recommended.

Annie, Will Gluck's musical film, and I am using that term loosely, is wrong-headed in concept and execution. After two vain attempts to film the successful Broadway hit, this latest version sucks all the life and last glimmers of hope that was so evident in the original production. Updated to present-day NYC, this new updated version Whereas, the Broadway musical had buckets of charm, a great score sung by talented performers that stressed comedy, and a book that clung to the nostalgic memories of the twenties, this debacle has anti-charm, alters the score with synthesized percussion and bombastic orchestrations, distorts songs so poorly crooned by non-singers (with the sole exception of Mr. Foxx who has some vocal talents and rhythm), and a dumbed-down script that resorts to food-spitting as high comedy (at least three times). It's just awful.

The screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna and the director never finds the right footing. In this Annie, our plucky heroine is not an orphan, but a foster child in search of her parents. She is still living with the self-absorbed Miss Hannigan, now a wash-up singer from the 90's pop group, C +C Music Factory. Daddy Warbucks becomes Will Stacks, a germaphobic businessman running for mayor. They meet and Annie becomes his photo opportunity until his heart is melted by this young ragamuffin. The film uses the original source as an outline, losing all the clever repartee and creating new dialog that is contemporary sounding for all the worse reasons. (Example: When looking for the dog, Sandy, to adopt, Stacks says to Annie: "Don't pick that one! It's licking its own who-ha." Moments of this sophistication just can't express my total displeasure with this film adaptation.)

Gluck's heavy-handed direction is everywhere. No one can escape it. The director can't stage a scene with any musical flair. The dancing is sloppy, the singing merely adequate, and the acting settles into non-stop mugging. The wondrous score from Charlie Strouse and Martin Charnin is as diluted as the filmmakers. Many of the musical numbers are throwaway moments and never build to anything resembling entertainment. (Only one song, It's a Hard- Knock Life, at least, has some energy and fun.)

Quvenzhané Wallis plays the title role and she does look cute enough to play Annie, but she has a limited vocal range and comes off as saccharine and insincere. The aforementioned Mr. Foxx has some style, but is given little to do except look grumpy and bothered until he transforms, due to his love for the little tyke, into a lovesick sap. As Stack's helpful crew, Rose Bryne is wasted and Bobby Cannavale is an embarrassment of riches. Coming off worse of all is Cameron Diaz playing Miss Hannigan. It would be unfair to compare her performance to the legendary Dorothy Loudon. Let's just say Ms. Diaz is just loud and leave it at that. (That she plays this beloved villain as cruel and seriously hateful only shows her misinterpretation of the role and serious miscasting of the part of Mr. Gluck.) Sadly, this film is one-stop- shopping to find these actors' worst performance in their careers.

The film has the New York vibe, but it seems to be in its own alternate universe, gritty but not too gritty, real, but not too real. The production design by Marcia Hinds is dreadful (Stacks' penthouse looks like a modern architecture horror inspired by George Jetson.), the costumes by Renee Ehrlich Kalfus are unflattering and do little to endear the characters, and the cinematography by Michael Grady is bland at best.

Perhaps, I should stop here, looking toward a better tomorrow when the sun will come up once again. But this feel-good movie just made me feel all so bad. So, I will end with this warning: Taking your family to see this film is a form of child abuse. This Annie deserves to be alone. GRADE: D

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