Sherlock Gnomes ** / *****
Directed by: John Stevenson.
Written by: Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley and Richard Sweren and Ben Zazove.
Starring: Emily Blunt (Juliet), Johnny Depp (Sherlock Gnomes), James McAvoy (Gnomeo), Maggie Smith (Lady Bluebury), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Watson), Michael Caine (Lord Redbrick), Stephen Merchant (Paris), Mary J. Blige (Irene), Jamie Demetriou (Moriarty)
If there is some value to Sherlock Gnomes – the new animated adventure, a sequel to Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) – which I did not, because my oldest child was born that year, so we weren’t going to movies with her yet – it will be in introducing kids to Sherlock Holmes at all. My daughters already know him – kind of – from repeated viewings of one of my childhood favorites (The Great Mouse Detective) which has become one of their childhood favorites, or from walking in on mommy and daddy as we watch the Benedict Cumberbatch/Martin Freedom version on Netflix, as we’ve done recently. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective, and his sidekick, remain relevant, in part because filmmakers and TV shows have never really let die off. Those stories – which I devoured as a kid/teenager – are still great, so if Sherlock Gnomes gets some kids to eventually read them – or watch the many incantations of him over the years, then I guess it’s a good thing. He movie itself however isn’t particularly good – it’s really all that funny, or all that exciting, and the novelty of talking gnomes, and a lot of gnome based puns, wears off pretty quickly. It’s serviceable children’s entertainment – my kids liked it, for the most part – but it’s not all that memorable.
The story revolves the gnomes from the first movie, now relocated into London. The title couple Gnomeo & Juliet (James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) have just been handed the reigns for the new garden by their parents – which at first seems exciting, and soon starts to feel like real work. Their relationship suffers as a result – because Juliet is so caught up in remaking the new garden, she takes Gnomeo for granted “The garden cannot wait. You can”. Gnomeo being a man, does what men do best in this situation – sulk like a little child. But they cannot spend too much time brooding, because soon all of their friends – and all other gnomes in London – have been taken (the funniest moment in the film is a news broadcast about the gnome theft, that acknowledges who ridiculous it is to be talking about gnome theft on TV). In walks Sherlock Gnomes (Johnny Depp) and his put upon sidekick Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to investigate. He’s convinced the perpetrator is his arch nemesis Moriarty (Jamie Demetriou), a bright yellow pie mascot they thought dead. They have 24 hours to find the gnomes, or they will be smashed.
The film is rather dull and lifeless, despite the huge dramatic stakes of gnome slaughter at play here. I don’t really think the casting oh Johnny Depp really helps here – he long ago seems to have forgotten how to act or sound like a relatable person, and here he takes Sherlock’s narcissism to extremes. Depp, who is capable of being great (but he only shows that occasionally now) too often falls back on easy tricks, and he does that here. The film may have been better off leaving Gnomeo & Juliet out of the film completely – they don’t add very much here, and basically get in the way. If there is a saving grace in the cast, it’s Ejiofor as Watson – who is quite charming and funny (full disclosure – I always love Watson in Sherlock Holmes stories).
The story moves along at a brisk enough pace, but the filmmakers do try and add a few twists to the plot, all of which are telegraphed well in advance (perhaps I’m being too hard here, and the filmmakers aimed those twists like they aimed the rest of the movie – at children – but even my 6 and a half year old called them). There is a lot of music in the film – most by executive producer Elton John, although Mary J. Blige does show up as Irene, Sherlock’s ex-girlfriend to sing a song about how awful he is, which is kind of amusing (Irene is a character I wished they did A LOT more with). But basically, Sherlock Gnomes is disposable kid’s entertainment – good to keep they entertained for 90 minutes, and not much else.
