At one point, Will Smith (and Jay-Z) had big plans for a musical remake of Annie starring Willow Smith, because he’d already bought a movie franchise for his son, and he probably figured she’d throw a tantrum if she didn’t get one too. But Willow supposedly got too old for the lead before the project made it to the screen, and so they replaced her with Hushpuppy from the Bathtub (sorry, it’s just easier to spell than Quvenzhané).
Will Gluck from Easy A and Friends with Benefits directs, and Jamie Foxx plays a new version of Daddy Warbucks named “Benjamin Stacks,” which amazingly isn’t spelled “Staxx.” Hey, more on-the-nose names have happened. Cameron Diaz plays the orphan wrangler, Miss Hannigan, and I think her idea of “campy” was to shout all her lines and do an act out on everything like a circus clown. I’m a big fan of campy musical theater, so I eagerly await watching this on an airplane in 18 months. Until then, my buddies and I are going to put on lipstick and hit each other with trash can lids. That’s what this is about, right?