I went to see Sweeney Todd

last night, in large part because AO Scott had called it a work of "extreme genius." Would I be writing this if I agreed?

At first I thought it was a cheap knockoff of Moulin Rouge, but, after a stab at doing London the way Moulin Rouge did Paris, the camera sort of gave up. Maybe it was because of London, which was a city of extreme dreariness. I amused myself during the songs by trying to figure out what year it was supposed to be. The technology and the criminal justice system was all Moll Flanders, but the typography was all Dickens. I guess it was the generic past. This had the sad side effect of depressing the visual impression of class difference. The rich were every bit as drab and smelly as the poor. Too bad, because they kept telling us (not showing us) how the rich feed off the poor. That's one reason we're supposed to be amused when the poor eat the rich.

I love all the actors. So then who do I blame for wishing the movie had been animated? I guess I'd have to blame Tim Burton.

Since parenthood has been visited on me, I see relatively few adult movies in theaters. Usually going to the movies means taking the little one to see something for kids. For a long time, I saw every Disney release and every animated picture. These are amusing for a while--the first one in a formula, for instance, would give me a real sense of excitement. The Incredibles, for instance. But mostly I would occupy myself by first identifying the celebrity voices, and then taking a nap. Sometimes also it's fun to play "what's this a remake of?" Now I know that I'm at a disappointing adult movie when I find myself playing "what's this a remake of?"

So what's Sweeney Todd a remake of? Edward Scissorhands. And Mary Poppins. Both of which are much better.