OK, how do you not like a movie where the characters are this cute? (My VERY favorite character? The little mushroom on the left.) It's typical of the original story, the Montague clan on one side of the fence (in blue), Capulets on the other (in red). The Montague gnomes are in a garden with a porcelain toilet as it's centerpiece, while the Capulet gnomes are more posh, with a pond and tower in their garden. (No coincidence that the Dolly Parton Gnome comes from the blue side of the fence.)The gnome in the Borat swimsuit amuses, but the real humor of that was missed completely by my kids - as was the comment by the twin gnome to the gnome he was attached to, "I wish I could quit you." There are some funny pop culture references, and while Tybalt dies in the original tragedy... he makes an appearance at the end of this movie super-glued together, which made the kids laugh.
There were some cute Shakespeare references: "a hat for a hat", Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Hamlet make an appearance - on the moving truck that takes lady flamingo away.
The part when the jogger encounters the 100 or so gnomes "frozen" in the alleyway was my favorite scene.
Would I give it two thumbs up? Probably not. My kids don't get British gardens and gnomes and the particularly crusty Brit attitude of the neighbors that hate each other. However, I giggled and the kids liked it... I didn't fall asleep (sorry, Brad... it wasn't THAT bad). Of course, I have to admit, it helped to remember that this little guy:
Is this guy, who is probably one of the best looking men on the planet:
Keep reminding yourself of that and it helps!
