I'm just a tired old man, but I love Tyra Banks, so I watched "Life-Size" a few times when it was in rotation on the Disney Channel back in 2000. It's a very sweet-natured, well-made, deftly-acted fantasy with some startling cast choices. I'm a long-time sap for sentimentality and I loved this flick.
The aforementioned Tyra is probably a crazy, conceited, difficult witch in real life, but here she plays an absolutely adorable, appealing, luminous character. Supermodels make a living by already fulfilling that illusion of portraying dolls come to life, so it could very well be that this is not such a terrible stretch for Miss Tyra. It's a nice touch that the Barbie clone "Eve" is played by a black woman, but with no attention called to her race. Tyra just cruises comfortably through her role, and she's funny and touching and sad in all the right places. She's Miss Perfect, with all her many careers and beautiful outfits and makeup. The humor comes in when she discovers that all her make-believe skills are non-existent in reality, but she determinedly soldiers on anyway. "Policewoman Eve" leaps in front of a speeding truck to save a fallen Lindsay Lohan, but it's pure luck that the driver has excellent brakes. "Homemaker Eve" just makes a terrible mess of the kitchen instead of whipping up a delicious meal. "Secretary Eve" looks fantastic in a business suit and a bun, but she can't type or operate office machinery. And so on.
The other casting surprise is a very young Lindsay Lohan. She's about 13 or 14 here, and shows no signs of the horrible future that awaits her. She plays her part skillfully, and is impressive as a young girl who's understandably upset by her mother's death and her father's inability to supply the attention she wants and needs. The rest of the cast is likewise superb, and all the acting neatly fits into the light-hearted tone of this flick.
Now, to the present. Tyra recently tweeted that a sequel is in the planning stages, and might be made later this year. I hope so, and I will definitely watch it if everything works out. Tyra herself will be right on the money. At 40, she doesn't look all that different from 26 or 27, and will easily make an awesome Eve. The other actors can still fit in just fine if the story includes a passage of time aspect. I highly doubt that Disney will hire Lindsay Lohan this time around. She has become way too unreliable and erratic, and might ruin the whole project. Another mid-20's actress could play Casey quite well without all the off-screen headaches. Anyway, the original "Life-Size" is a fun little movie that Disney has expertly aimed at children, but adults will also find plenty to entertain them if they just relax and let it carry them back to their own childhood for a couple hours.
The aforementioned Tyra is probably a crazy, conceited, difficult witch in real life, but here she plays an absolutely adorable, appealing, luminous character. Supermodels make a living by already fulfilling that illusion of portraying dolls come to life, so it could very well be that this is not such a terrible stretch for Miss Tyra. It's a nice touch that the Barbie clone "Eve" is played by a black woman, but with no attention called to her race. Tyra just cruises comfortably through her role, and she's funny and touching and sad in all the right places. She's Miss Perfect, with all her many careers and beautiful outfits and makeup. The humor comes in when she discovers that all her make-believe skills are non-existent in reality, but she determinedly soldiers on anyway. "Policewoman Eve" leaps in front of a speeding truck to save a fallen Lindsay Lohan, but it's pure luck that the driver has excellent brakes. "Homemaker Eve" just makes a terrible mess of the kitchen instead of whipping up a delicious meal. "Secretary Eve" looks fantastic in a business suit and a bun, but she can't type or operate office machinery. And so on.
The other casting surprise is a very young Lindsay Lohan. She's about 13 or 14 here, and shows no signs of the horrible future that awaits her. She plays her part skillfully, and is impressive as a young girl who's understandably upset by her mother's death and her father's inability to supply the attention she wants and needs. The rest of the cast is likewise superb, and all the acting neatly fits into the light-hearted tone of this flick.
Now, to the present. Tyra recently tweeted that a sequel is in the planning stages, and might be made later this year. I hope so, and I will definitely watch it if everything works out. Tyra herself will be right on the money. At 40, she doesn't look all that different from 26 or 27, and will easily make an awesome Eve. The other actors can still fit in just fine if the story includes a passage of time aspect. I highly doubt that Disney will hire Lindsay Lohan this time around. She has become way too unreliable and erratic, and might ruin the whole project. Another mid-20's actress could play Casey quite well without all the off-screen headaches. Anyway, the original "Life-Size" is a fun little movie that Disney has expertly aimed at children, but adults will also find plenty to entertain them if they just relax and let it carry them back to their own childhood for a couple hours.