Sleeping Beauty (2014) Directed by Casper Van Dien

Welcome to the Van Dien family reunion! The only movie to star more Van Dien's in it than Wayans' movies usually stars Wayans' in it. So how is this 'family' project? Well, it's OK...ish.

Main thing about this movie is that I just can't see who it's supposed to be for exactly. You would think that a movie involving the Sleeping Beauty fairytale would be meant for young kids and maybe young girls in particular (I certainly never was interested in 'Sleeping Beauty' as a young boy). And indeed, as a kids movie it's a pretty entertaining adventure movie were it not for the fact that this movie also features some extreme violence in it. And I mean head-ripping-off kind of violence, which Casper Van Dien must have picked up while working with Paul Verhoeven on "Starship Troopers". So no, this clearly is not a kids movie after all! So how is it to watch for adults? Really not exciting or interesting enough. It's weird really how the movie is stuck between being a kids movie with its story and way of storytelling but an adult movie with its dialog, characters and graphic violence.

Another problem I have with this movie is that it seems to be lacking a good main character in it. The first part of the movie is all about the Sleeping Beauty (Grace Van Dien) and her family (all of the other Van Dien's) but once she goes into her sleep (that's not a spoiler is it?) it's of course time for the movie to start focusing on some other characters. In this case it decides to focus on a band of misfits, who come across more like villains than actual likable enough main heroes, who are all both fun and interesting to have to follow around.

It's also not the most interesting or entertaining movie around. There are actually parts in the movie that feel overlong and the movie also does really become a bit of a boring one at times. Why not throw in some more fantasy and other creative aspects? I know and understand that this movie didn't had the biggest budget to spend but surely they could have come up with some more entertaining characters and moments for the movie, that wouldn't have cost all that much to create.

But OK, I still admit, as far as these low-budget type of fairytale movies go, this is far from the worst one you could watch. Sure, it's a cheap looking film with all of its settings, costumes and effects but at the same time, it's still not a terrible looking one either.

This so easily could have been an absolutely terrible and silly to watch cheap B-movie but yet it still works out as something more serious and is better to watch than just the average genre attempt. It's not a terrible directorial debut by Casper Van Dien and while most of the story, dialog and acting may be weak, the storytelling itself isn't.

It's not a terrible movie but at the same time, I can't really recommend it to anyone either. After all, I still have absolutely no idea who to recommend this movie to anyway, seeing how I just don't know who this movie is meant for in the first place.

5/10

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