Fridae

Like its groundbreaking predecessor Shrek, Dreamworks' Shrek 2 presents a fractured fairyland that sparkles with subversive humor, delights with pop culture references and entertains with unforgettable characters.

The movie opens with a homemade video of newly weds Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) on their honeymoon - presented in a music montage format that parodies other movies including Spiderman, Lord of The Rings and From Here To Eternity.

Returning to their humble abode in the enchanted swamp, the loving ogre and ogrette receive a royal summons to appear before the bride's parents, the King and Queen of Far, Far Away (John Cleese and Julie Andrews respectively).

The Kingdom of Far, Far Away lampoons Hollywood and Beverly Hills and comes complete with fenced in mansions for Rapunzel, Snow White and Cinderella, and shops the likes of Versarchery, Armani Armoury and Farbucks.

Upon arrival, the swamp-dwelling ogre, his ogre-rific wife and "smart ass" sidekick Donkey (Eddie Murphy) found themselves confronted with shock and disapproval from Fiona's parents and the Kingdom's residents - all of whom were under the impression that their Princess was rescued and married to Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

Once at Far, Far Away, the audience is introduced to a cast of unforgettable characters. There is the effete lip-gloss wearing Prince Charming who removes his helmet to reveal a hairnet and flicks his golden locks around in slow-mo like he was advertising for Garnier shampoo.

There is the conniving Estee Lauder lookalike Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders of Absolutely Fabulous) who runs a Martha Stewart type corporation that churns out hexes and potions and isn't above blackmailing royalty to get what she wants.

And then there are the trans-gendered Ugly Stepsister (CNN's Larry King) in all his drag-queen glory running the notorious Poison Apple Inn and Joan Rivers as herself providing commentary on Far, Far Away's red carpet event (which proves my suspicion that Ms Rivers has been around since the Medieval Age but I digress).

However, Shrek 2 surely belongs to the ogre-slayer and "hit-cat" hired by the King to remove Shrek from the picture: Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas). Spoofing Banderas' role in Mask of Zorro, Puss-in-Boots is a swashbuckler whose most fearsome weapon is a disarming sad-kitty stare.

After a failed ogre assassination attempt, Puss-in-Boots decides to help Shrek and Donkey infiltrate Fairy Godmother's factory for a potion which transformed Shrek into a hunk of a lumberjack and Donkey into a white stallion. A case of mistaken identities then ensues whereby Princess Fiona is led to believe that Prince Charming is the transformed Shrek.

The rousing finale sees Shrek, Donkey and Puss-in-Boots gate-crashing the royal party where Fiona and Prince Charming are celebrating their nuptials, with the help of his fairy-tale friends including Little Red Riding Hood's "gender confused" Big Bad Wolf, Gingerbread Man, Three Little Pigs and Three Blind Mice.

Throughout Shrek 2, the jokes and gags come fast and furious. Particularly memorable are the rescue mission which parodies Mission Impossible, Shrek's run-in with the law which recalls reality TV show COPS (re-titled as Knights) where the local lawmen use pepper grinders instead of pepper spray, Puss-in-Boots' shower dance sequence from Flashdance and the revelation that Pinocchio has a fetish for wearing ladies' undergarments.

Yet beneath its demented sense of humor and excellent computer graphics, the plight of the lime-green lovers in Shrek 2 can be interpreted as an allegory of gay love - especially when they find themselves faced with social discrimination and confronted by the challenges presented by a world that disapproves of their love - all because as ogres, they fall outside of "mainstream" society.

In fact, after all the laughs have died down, gay audience will find a special resonance with Shrek 2 as its messages eventually begin to sink in - messages that reaffirm the importance in being yourself, of loving yourself for who you are and most importantly, of loving who you choose to love.