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The story takes place in a small waterside town, a bit uptight and locked into their morals and standards. There's your typical townsfolk: the young new priest, the domineering town elder, the sweet old man with a crush on a widower, an overmothered child, an abusive drunk of a husband. Your regular small town. Then one night a cold wind blows in, and suddenly there's someone new in town. They don't go to church, wear red, and soon open a small shop. People go in only to have the shopkeep give them something they secretly desire, with an uncanny accuracy. The townspeople begin feeling freer and doing things they may not normally do, giving into temptation. The elder does everything in his power to stop it.

When I first read Stephen King's novel, "Needful Things," I seem to remember it being collectables for sale, not chocolate. Also, the shopkeep was an old man, not a French woman. By the end of the book the town was killing each other off because of the machinations of the shopkeep, while the film has the whole town learn a valuable lesson, and not nail dogs to doors or blow up bookshops at all. Quite a departure if you ask me. A lot like not killing Richard Dreyfuss in "Jaws" or making the Grinch the good guy.

Once I got past the differences, I was able to really enjoy this movie. I like Juliette Binoche, who seems to be picking up english so well her french accent seems forced. Depp is Depp. Depp is in this movie,long hair, playing guitar, wearing his own clothes. Even just being himself, he puts in a wonderful performance. Carrie Anne Moss, or Trinity as most people know her, can act, and looks pretty good with longer hair. Judi Dench is of course on her way to another Oscar nomination by virtue of having appeared on screen again.

The movie itself is funny in that art film kind of way. Nothing that would make you wet yourself, but cute in that "I didn't think this movie would be funny" style. Some pratfalls, cute kids, and clergy and elderly acting like you wouldn't expect. I'm not discounting the humor, just saying it's not "Caddyshack." Very nice and enjoyable.