'A Wrinkle in Time' review
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Oprah Winfrey re-invents herself for a younger generation as one of three celestial guides, and she is clearly happy to do so. At the premiere of "A Wrinkle in Time," she said, "There are going to be kids who will see this movie and say, 'You're Mrs. Which.' And then I'm going to say, 'Yes, and I had a talk show too, thank you!'"
Her two magical colleagues are played by Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon who introduces herself to the kids and to us as, Mrs. Whatsit. Together, they help a teenage girl, her kid brother, and a guy who wants to be her friend navigate an interplanetary adventure.
The goal is to find her long lost father. He has been "tessering," which is another word for traveling through a wrinkle in time. As he explains it, "imagine 91 billion light years traveled like that." At the snap of his fingers. He's played by Chris Pine in a small role. Dad stays off screen for much of the movie so the film can belong to its female characters and especially to the middle school girl at the center of the story.
Storm Reid embodies "Meg Murry" in a way that will delight and inspire her peers.
"Your father's trapped by an evil energy. It's too strong for our light. And, the only one who can stop it is you," Oprah's character tells our heroine while urging her to, "Be a warrior!"
Director Ava Duvernay, who is known for serious movies like the drama, "Selma," hasn't forgotten what it's like to be 13. She told one interviewer on the red carpet at the premiere, "I found my inner Ava, my little Ava while making this movie."
There are wry little bits of social commentary here, and a few brain twisters for the adults, but "A Wrinkle In Time" is a movie that middle school girls can call their own.
Telling you too much about this movie makes me a little "trepidatious" as the kids like to say. Best to let them discover this movie on their own while parents can delight in their enjoyment and warm to the film's many positive messages.
"A Wrinkle In Time" is from Disney - owned by the same parent company as WABC-TV.
----------
