Tooth Fairy (www.the-usher.com)

"Does this tutu make my butt look big?"

Coming to the end of his ice hockey career, Derek Thompson (Johnson) has made a name for himself as the toughest man on the rink. With his own dreams coming to an end, he has become far too brutally honest when talking to children. When he tells his girlfriend Carly’s (Judd) daughter that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist, the powers that be think he has gone too far. Summoned to fairyland, Derek is given a sentence by the head fairy herself (Andrews) and that sentence is to be a tooth fairy and have all the responsibility that comes with it.

Why, oh why do action stars want to show they can do much more than hold a gun or blow something up and now it is The Rock’s turn to show he can do just that.

Action stars who have made their fame and fortune fighting for justice and taking down the bad guys as a one man army always want their careers to be taken seriously. They want to show a softer, lighter, more kid friendly side to their talents and show that they can appeal to a wider audience. The main emphasis however is to try and show that there is much more to them than just firing a gun and blowing things up. Over the years huge action stars have tried this and, for the most part, failed in making this change, just look at Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Jingle All the Way’, ‘Junior’ and ‘Kindergarten Cop’, Bruce Willis in ‘The Kid’, Vin Diesel ‘The Pacifier’ and Sylvester Stallone in ‘Oscar’ and ‘Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot’. Now it is the turn of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is play it for the kids.

The former WWE superstar’s transition to movie action icon is one that has been pretty mixed. Along with hits like ‘Walking Tall’, ‘The Scorpion King’, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, he has had a few blips along the way in films like ‘Southland Tales’ and the truly dreadful ‘Doom’ but he is also no stranger to entering into different genres. While ‘The Game Plan’ and ‘Race to Witch Mountain’ were classic examples of an action star that should stick to his own genre, this performance in ‘Be Cool’ showed that Dwayne Johnson has real comedic potential. The big question is however, when the script arrived for ‘Tooth Fairy’, why would the man who used to be known as The Rock want to take on a movie like this?

Very much in the same mould as the ‘Santa Clause’ movies, ‘Tooth Fairy’ is a story of believing in something greater than anything you might understand. For Derek Thompson, everything was plain and simple. He isn’t shy in telling people the cold, hard truth and breaking the spirit of even the youngest of his fans but when he tells his girlfriend’s daughter that the Tooth Fairy does not exist, then he has to pay the price. His punishment is to become a Tooth Fairy himself. This is the high concept for this comedy and if it wasn’t for the supporting cast, then the film could have been a disaster.

When you have an action star in a role like this you usually surround them with actors who are no stranger to the genre and this is the main plus point of the film. Firstly we have Stephen Merchant, the British actor/writer/director who is best known for his work with Ricky Gervais, showing just how good a comedic actor he can be as Tracy and almost steals the film. Dame Julie Andrews brings a little class to the proceedings as the head of the Tooth Fairies. You also have to applaud the casting of Billy Crystal as the 007 Q-Like Jerry, who is hilarious throughout. Dwayne Johnson himself, tries his hardest as the hardnosed Derek Thompson but he still look uncomfortable in the more dramatic and comedic elements.

‘Tooth Fairy’ is a movie made simply for kids but it is one that adults will struggle to enjoy. While the supporting cast is excellent, Dwayne Johnson is far better just sticking to the action flicks that made his name. With plenty of fun for the kids however, this hits with its target audience but the adults will not end up believing.

Introduction by Director Michael Lembeck
Tooth Fairy Training Center
Sing Along with "Fairy-oke"
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes
Behind the Scenes of Tooth Fairy
Theatrical Trailer
Bonus Digital Copy

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2010