The Brothers Grimm

Looks like Terry Gilliam has had himself another troubled production. It’s been seven years since the last Gilliam film (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), although he did try his best to make another one during that stretch (the failure of his Don Quixote film was chronicled in Lost in La Mancha). This fictional take on the origin of those famous fairy tales aspires to be another classic Gilliam fantasy, to go along with Jabberwocky, Time Bandits and the sadly underrated The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Gilliam’s trademark visual style is often in full blast, and the movie is peppered with great moments of eccentric comedy. But Ehren Kruger’s script isn’t up to Gilliam’s usual standards, and, although the director wanted the terrific Samantha Morton for the female lead, Dimension Films forced him to cast the bland Lena Headey instead. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger do fine as the brothers, who scam European townsfolk into believing they can fight ghosts. It’s not a great movie, but it looks great, and the leads keep things entertaining.