‘Matilda’ Captures Sentiment, Horro

Fri., Aug. 2, 1996

Chris Hewitt Saint Paul Pioneer Press

“I’m smart, you’re dumb. I’m big, you’re little. I’m right, you’re wrong,” Danny DeVito says, summing up “Matilda’s” take on parent/child relations.

Played by the grave, matter-of-fact Mara Wilson (“Mrs. Doubtfire”), Matilda is a bright girl whose rotten parents (DeVito and Rhea Perlman) don’t care about her. But, with the help of books, Matilda gets back at them and at Mrs. Trunchbull, the sweaty, gin-blossomed shot-putter who presides over Matilda’s school in the same way that Idi Amin presided over Uganda.

Based on a children’s story by Roald Dahl (“James and the Giant Peach”), “Matilda” ably captures his peculiar mix of sentiment and horror. Dahl’s sensibility is closer to Stephen King than Dr. Seuss, and parents may be surprised by the movie’s darkness, particularly in the school scenes (“You’re too small,” Trunchbull barks at a second-grader, just before grabbing her by the pigtails and tossing her 100 yards. “Grow faster!”).

DeVito, who also directed, fills “Matilda” with wildly exaggerated scenes that are a little bit scary, a little bit funny and a lot like the way kids tell stories. It’s also suffused with sadness (Matilda is, after all, a neglected child) and with the hope that a smart, imaginative person can figure out how to make her life better.

Dahl’s book is slight, so “Matilda” runs out of story after about 45 minutes. And it would be easier to relate to Matilda if she didn’t have magical powers - they’re a metaphor for the special qualities we all have, but how many of us can list telekinesis as one of our qualities?

In the end, with its messages about self-sufficiency and about responding to familial rejection by creating another family more to your liking, “Matilda” may be one of those children’s movies that is really for wistful adults. It’s not where you come from that is important, Matilda learns. It’s where you are going.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “MATILDA” Locations: East Sprague, Lyons and Showboat cinemas Credits: directed by Danny DeVito; starring Mara Wilson, DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz Running time: 1:38 Rating: PG

This sidebar appeared with the story: “MATILDA” Locations: East Sprague, Lyons and Showboat cinemas Credits: directed by Danny DeVito; starring Mara Wilson, DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz Running time: 1:38 Rating: PG

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