Be Careful What You Wish For

First, I must confess I have never seen or read the play version of Into the Woods, so when I went to see it yesterday everything was new to me. I had barely seen a full trailer. But I'm very glad I went. The production quality was excellent, the music/songs fit the story beautifully, the dialogue was witty and clever, and the premise is intriguing. It's essentially an adult fairy tale; it weaves together the stories of Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, but it's more realistic. There are fanciful elements, to be sure - magic is still a major factor. But it's not all happily ever after.

One of the things I love about the story is how it explores the necessity of being careful what you wish for. Each main character wants something, and the desires seem innocent enough: to keep a friend, have a baby, go to the ball, reverse a curse, etc. But those desires lead each character to make a mistake (or more than one). None of them seem terrible. Little things, really. But all of those mistakes combine and interact and cause a giant mess. Literally! In one musical number, several characters try to figure out who's really to blame, and it becomes apparent that all of them are in their own way. They all contributed, because they pursued what they wanted above what was right.

"You're so nice. You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice. I'm not good, I'm not bad, I'm just right." So says the witch to a few of the characters at a crucial decision. I've pondered that statement a good bit. A lot depends on how exactly you define the terms, but I have observed that it can be a whole lot easier to be nice - be pleasant, not rock the boat, do what pleases the people you're with - than to actively do either good or evil. Because sometimes the right thing is extremely unpopular. It's not fun. It can be messy. I was reminded of Batman: "What chance does Gotham have if the good people do nothing?" But defining "good people" can be difficult, too.

Near the end of the film, some of the characters wrestle with a difficult choice and they sing a beautiful song ("No One Is Alone") containing the line, "Witches can be right/Giants can be good." I think most or all of us so often categorize people as either good or bad. We like them or we don't. Even if someone isn't a friend or an enemy, we have an opinion about them. But that's not the way people are. That's not the way the world is. No person is 100% good because we all have a sin nature. No one is 100% evil because of God's restraining grace. We all are capable of doing good or evil under the right circumstances, and many lies and false religions contain traces of truth. Sometimes what we most need to hear is said by someone we really dislike, and sometimes the people we love most mislead us. The exception of course is God, since He is incapable of lying.

In that same song, the characters realize that everyone makes mistakes, but the right response isn't blame; it's learning from our mistakes and the mistakes of others and being there for one another. We truly are never alone. Our actions always have a ripple effect. And God has designed us to live out Christianity with other people. When someone falls, we pick them up and help them move forward. We don't look for revenge; we remember that we've made more than our share of mistakes, too.

The movie does have a few negative elements. Some of the morality is questionable, not all the dress is modest, and there's a few off-color comments. But overall, I recommend watching it. There's a lot more to be gleaned from it than my few thoughts. Venture Into the Woods.

Nate