Buttons

What's bound to be far more interesting than the dreadful Buttons is an article about the making of this movie: Why are Kate Winslet and Robert Redford BOTH narrating? Who snookered the venerable Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke into appearing in such a ramshackle production? How are there no credited writers or producers for this film? How did a movie with such an impressive cast manage to play for one night in US theaters before disappearing to DVD and cable? Why is this film so consistently cheap-looking? Who decided to make this a musical when the songs are consistently rotten? And why does director Tim Janis give himself name-above-the-title placement on both the opening and closing credits? (Is the official title supposed to be TIM JANIS BUTTONS?)

Sheer catastrophe, and not of the so-bad-it's good variety. Don't subject yourself or your unwitting families to this disasterpiece. It's enough to ruin your Christmas.

There was so much promise for this film. Some really great actors, the story is heartwarming and the message is clear. I was in tears at the end. However, it felt like a chore to watch. 10 minutes in and I had the urge to fast forward. The musical numbers on their own weren't bad, but they felt forced into the story, with the exception of "work" which was by far the best number. The songs definitely had strong undertones of other musicals to the point I wonder if they were original or actually from other musicals. The acting- honestly the stars in this film are wonderful in other roles I've seen them in, so I don't know what fell so flat- direction maybe? It was a weird mix of super talent and super horrible acting that made many scenes feel disingenuous and awkward. The sound- this was the WORST. Sound is one of those things you don't normally notice, so when you do, you know it's BAD. Everything sounded like it was recorded in a studio and placed on top of the film or something. It was disconnected and echoing to the point of distraction. This is definitely a very low budget movie (or they blew their budget on a few actors and had none for editing/sound). If you like tear-jerker orphan movies with musical numbers spattered about and happy endings, it's worth a watch, but fair warning about the production value. If it weren't for DVD and Angela Lansbury, I wouldn't have made it through this movie.

I wanted to love this movie. The cast is stellar. Dick van Dyke and Angela Lansbury are outstanding (still vibrant in their 90s!). Alivia Clark's voice is lovely. The costumes and locations are first-rate. It's "Pollyanna" meets "Annie" and "Oliver," but unfortunately "Les Miserables" is thrown into the mix. The stories told are uneven, with missteps throughout. By the way, Annabelle gets the nickname "Buttons," but that has nothing to do with the story. A much better title would be "Emily's Wish." Furthermore, because the sound is out of sync, it feels oddly inauthentic. It's mostly very depressing, and barely about Christmas. I wouldn't show this to anyone under 10, as it's way too scary and depressing -- even with the fun songs and heartwarming, uplifting message. "Mary Poppins" is a 10. This movie is no 10!

Yeah, although I truly dislike what falls under christmas movie section, well... Katie McGrath it seems has a wonderful way of making you watch whatever she starred in... And if it was not for her appearance in the movie.... Otherwise, this is truly truly badly done and badly assembled movie, not even the fabulous cast could have saved it...

I am sorry to do this but I have to be honest. This movie majorly sucked. It was such a chore getting through it. Had it not been for Dame AL's I probably wouldn't have stuck with it.

I was so excited to see this, I mean AL and DVD as angels helping orphans. But boy am I glad I watched it first before watching it with Family.

There is only 3 things that made it somewhat pallitable. AL, DVD and the ending (somewhat heartwarming).

Apart from a few notable cast the acting was terrible. The songs were major rip offs from other works. Sync was off in places. These are just the tip.

Don't watch.