Hollywood-watch

Matilda 8211; Regal

THE child is father of the man, they say. But to make the point, Matilda throws around an assortment of caricatures, one worse than the other and when our super-cute heroine finds an understanding teacher 8212; it is the teacher who wants to learn from the student. It8217;s quite a mish-mash of madness with a few flashes of sanity in a plethora of zilch. If little Matilda Mara Wilson is left on her own, it is because her parents Harry Danny DeVito and Zinnia Wormwood Rhea Pearlman are too absorbed in themselves. And as if this isn8217;t bad enough, Matilda is sent to a school run by a tyrant called Agatha Trunchbull Pam Ferris who keeps hurling kids about as if they are toys. quot;Use the rod, beat the child,quot; is her motto. So, it8217;s left to Little Miss Matilda to set things right. First, she8217;s an avid reader, so her role is to wean away folks from television. Second, she discovers psychic powers which make things happen. Matilda sets out to teach Trunchbull a thing or two. It8217;s all very far-fetched. Actually the story could have been better handled but with exaggeration and special effects taking precedence over a good plot and a strong narrative, director Danny DeVito gets lost in the slapstick. Mara Wilson, one of the kids in Mrs Doubtfire, keeps the film going for some time but the same cannot be said about the hamming Danny DeVito, Rhea Pearlman or Pam Ferris.