A Simple Wish

In an early stage of development, A Simple Wish might have been about an aspiring but inept male fairy godmother (Martin Short), admitted to the order anyway to fulfill an affirmative action mandate; controversy-shy studio executives then chose to drop the angle entirely. The theory is just a wild guess, but the alternative is that the story never made sense at any point in its development. A Simple Wish is the kind of exasperating kiddie fantasy where stuff just happens, the only guiding internal logic being how frequently the filmmakers can use computer graphics as a temporary distraction for the kids. When those special effects stop, however, the film verges on the unbearable. Martin Short, tolerable only in small doses even on his best days, turns his magical character into a flinching, snorting, charmless creation; he's expected to support a high-concept premise which fumbles every potentially interesting set-up. Wandering from scene to scene with a blissful disregard for coherence, the film makes you simply wish that you were watching just about anything else. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)