REEL CRITICS:Satire in ‘Shrek the Third’ falls flat

What was clever and original in the first two “Shrek” movies has been reduced to a predictable formula in “Shrek the Third.”

There’s still a lot of family-friendly fun on screen. A bevy of famous celebrities voice the wild characters who populate the story. Pratfalls, puns and personal zingers are still part of the show. Amusing pop culture references abound.

But the great sharpness and wit of the previous films is missing in action.

Most of the plot centers on Shrek trying to avoid the responsibility of becoming the new king of the realm. A cavalcade of cartoon villains, heroes and buffoons race across the screen, creating problems for everyone.

Some of their antics are humorous, but they seem contrived and pointless. Some of their jokes are funny, but they seem to be recycled versions of the same jokes you heard in the first two movies. The attempts at social satire fall a little flat this time around.

Setting the stage for the next film in the series, Shrek and Fiona become parents in this one. I’m sure millions of green Baby Ogre products will be sold in stores this Christmas.

But the commercial triumph of this franchise can’t hide its artistic decline.

The eclectic “Paris, Je T’aime” (“Paris, I Love You”) is described as a collection of 18 “neighborhood romances.” They’re not all romantic, but they do share love as a theme: love for a child, a spouse, a kindred spirit, and finally, love for the glorious City of Light.

Directed by some of cinema’s most acclaimed directors (Alfonso Cuarón, Gurinder Chadha, the Coen brothers, Gus Van Sant) and featuring a wonderful group of actors, each segment is beautifully shot in a different district of Paris.

The stories, as brief as five minutes, include many that will charm or touch you; others feel incomplete. Some will leave you wanting more from the characters; others are perfect little poems on their own.

In the segment directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Steve Buscemi is hilarious without saying a word as a tourist who has a bizarre encounter on a Metro platform.

The lovely Gena Rowlands wrote a segment of the film and stars with old pal Ben Gazzara. The two play an estranged couple who meet for a drink the day before their divorce is final. Classy to the end, their gentle barbs nevertheless find their targets.

The final segment, by Alexander Payne (“Sideways”), was the most unexpected. A middle-aged American woman tours the city alone, and at first her voice-over in painfully stilted French is rather funny. But by the end, both she and the city of Paris have captured our hearts.

18 charming love stories in the City of Light