DATE: Tuesday, July 15, 1997                TAG: 9707140244

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E7   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Movie review

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   50 lines

FANTASY FILM IS A DELIGHT FOR BOTH CHILDREN, PARENTS

``A SIMPLE WISH'' is something of a campy hoot that may make the parents chuckle more than it makes the children howl. It takes much of the classic myths of children's fantasy and pokes fun at them relentlessly.

Martin Short, a very funny clown who deserves better projects than his sad movie career has brought him, is cast as the first male fairy godmother. Since all the divas of the godmother world are off at a convention, he gets the call when little Mara Wilson mutters her wish.

It's not so simple.

She wants her father (Robert Pastorelli, of TV's ``Murphy Brown'') to get the starring part in a Broadway musical. After years of trying to break into show biz, he's going to give up and go back to small-town America if he doesn't get the role in a musical version of Charles Dickens' ``A Tale of Two Cities.'' The show is a delightful spoof of ``Les Miserables'' and those other heavy musical-operas. It even has a song called ``Off to the Gallows.''

At magic, Short's character is not gifted. By mistake, he turns Mara's father into a statue in Central Park.

Things get worse when the evil Claudia returns. Played in over-the-top fashion by Kathleen Turner (whose career appears to be sinking fast), Claudia has stolen all the magic wands except Short's beat-up model.

Amanda Plummer has what might have been a scene-stealing role as a dog - or, rather, a person who once was a dog, and hasn't quite forgotten. There are also bits by such personages as Ruby Dee and Teri Garr.

Wilson is one of the best child stars to come along in years. As in ``Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ``Matilda,'' she manages to suggest not the usually whining child-actor but a wise child with good comic timing. She's usually smarter than the adults, but she's sweet about it.

Fantasy is seldom tried these days. ``A Simple Wish'' is going to have an uphill battle to become the children's classic it hopes to be. It faces competitive business from ``Hercules'' at the moment, with ``George of the Jungle'' just a few days away from opening. ``A Simple Wish'' is likely to get lost. It deserves better. For moments at a time, it is quite humorous. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

MOVIE REVIEW

``A Simple Wish''

Cast: Martin Short, Kathleen Turner, Mara Wilson, Robert

Pastorelli, Francis Capra, Amanda Plummer, Teri Garr, Ruby Dee

Director: Michael Ritchie

MPAA rating: PG (cartoonish violence but little objectionable)

Mal's rating: Three stars

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