Curses!: A F***ed-Up Fairy Tale

Rumpelstiltskin—or RJ, as he prefers to be called—has been kicked out of the Villain’s Guild and cursed to do good deeds. Bored without his villainous routine, he agrees to help Anastasia Maledotto find out who murdered her stepsister, Cinderella, and rescue her sister, Drusilla, from a disastrous marriage to Prince Charming. Kazimer is squarely on the side of Cinderella’s stepsisters, so he downplays their traditional ugliness: Asia is slightly overweight, and Dru sports a unibrow. The vibe is like a cross between The Addams Family and Grimm with a little Rocky and Bullwinkle thrown in, as various people cartoonishly try to kill their spouses, and RJ is drawn to Asia’s violent nature. Juvenile glee drips from the twee and faux shocking allusions to sex toys, foot fetishes, and transsexuality, and the gratuitous pop culture references are already somewhat dated, leaving this clumsy romp notably lacking in redeeming features. Agent: Sharon Belcastro, Belcastro Agency. (Mar.)