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feywyndom
Reviews
Anne of Green Gables (2016)
Why is President Bartlet wearing Matthew's coveralls?
Spoilers
I truly love Martin Sheen's President Bartlet from West Wing. But why oh why was President Bartlet parachuted into Green Gables and into Matthew Cuthbert's coveralls?
Studio executives, "Let's make Anne of Green Gables, again. We need a big star to sell it (reaches into rando bag of movie stars) and let's cast Martin Sheen."
All sane people, "Um, the whole point of AoGG is the powerful dynamic between the FEMALE characters. I know men usually controlled everything, but in this story, on this little island, in this little town, it was definitely a matriarchy."
Studio executives, "I can see that, well why don't we cut Marilla's best lines or even better! give them to Matthew!"
I feel really sorry for the actress that played Marilla. Could you imagine auditioning for the part, finally getting it, then reading the whole script and finding you were playing a sparkless co-parent and second fiddle to of all people, Matthew?
I know the writers had an impossible job to get so much in so in 90 minutes. But there were so many unforced errors!
I just kept thinking, why is president Bartlet still talking? Why do we have to see him chase a pig for two minutes, but then not have enough time to follow Diana back home after she got drunk? Like Anne would have just waved her stumbling friend out the door then turned back to wash the dishes? Why was all that off screen?
And Marilla didn't marry the Blythe boy because of her mother? And Matthew went a courting? There were no reasons to change that. It's like the adults were embarrassed for the Cuthbert siblings and were saying, "Yeah, they are super cool. They have a boy/girlfriend but they go to a different school, and you wouldn't know them." Why?
Then they gutted Gilbert. He looked more like someone's greasy little brother that Anne would be babysitting rather than a peer, much less am eventual romantic interest (I know our boy was 18 when he was cast, but still).
Positives The girl who played Anne was good, a winning smile when she chose to deploy it.
Probably the only big character change that I actually like was the Let's Pretend-> Let's Find Out. She still has a big imagination, but showing her deep curiosity for the natural world (red dirt) foreshadowing her great success in not only literature, but STEM subjects.
I liked that we saw them all doing chores. That's a main plot point (they need a damn boy!), but in the 1985 one all we really see is Matthew following some cows and Marila leisurely cooking her award winning things, like an upper middle class lady, not a poorish farm woman.
Generally, I think everything was on the nose, overacted, over explained, "I just don't understand her." But I did like President Bartlet's quick turn about at the train station when he first saw Anne. I could easily have seen our Matthew doing that move.
The drone shots of the Island were beautiful.