This Is It (2009)

I have been meaning to watch this one for a while. Honestly I was waiting for an opportunity when I didn't need to pay full attention. I've seen this one categorized as a documentary, but you aren't learning anything, there is no narration, and I don't consider a few lines about his passing a storyline. You could almost call this a musical, but it is more like a DVD you get for free with a music CD at the record store. Just a raw performance music video is really what it is, so I'll call it a musical.

The film starts with interviews of the extras, talking about how much they love Michael then we hit the stage. The film basically goes through each final take on each song he had planned for his final tour which he called "This is it."

There are some pretty cool sets, and it seemed like there was a different set for each song. It really would have been an amazing concert to attend. The thing that struck me the most was his passion for saving the environment. He seemed to think the world was going to end in 2012 because of how humans were treating the environment. This really made me think... what exactly has this mulch-millionaire done himself?

He SHOULD and COULD have done a lot, so before I assumed he hadn't I did some research. His song "Heal the World," is said to have created an awareness for the environment with a younger generation. He is given a lot of credit for writing some songs, and I will commend him for that. His videos really did reach a lot of people and send a strong message internationally, and at the end of the video there is a note to donate to his charity "Heal the World Foundation." Jackson established two foundations with his millions of dollars, this one and one and "Michael Jackson United Negro College Fund Endowed Scholarship Fund." This one is an endowment, so he put $1.5 million in it in 1986... and that was it. The Heal the World Foundation lost it's tax exempt status in 2002 when it failed to file yearly tax statements. The reality is that he was a hypocrite, he took no real actions to help the environment. None of his charity work helped the environment, he just made money on songs about helping the environment telling people to do their part without doing his own. I'm not going to get into his personal life, not necessary, but this alone bothered me. You need to be a big Jackson fan to find this one worth your time.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477715/

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A Star is Born (1954)

A residual of musical month, this one was a late arrival from my library rentals so it took me a little while to get to. Not to mention this is a 3 hour film. Starring Judy Garland and James Mason the restored version that I watched had a number of pieced together scenes where we had photo stills and stock archive audio to make the film how it was originally intended. This is only the second time I've seen a film like this with Greed last month using the same method. With that film it worked though, a silent film that already has subtitle frames, stills and text aren't so bad. This one was just strange for me, I can't get lost in a film when it is being pieced together for me.

This might be one of Garland's best films though. She has an array of great performances, sadly I was a little over watching musicals when I got to this one, and 3 hours made for a lot of song and dance sequences. I thought it had a great central plot and a sad overall story, the length however was just a bit too much. There was a reason they edited all that stuff out.... because it was too long... I didn't need the stills to recreate it being too long.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047522/

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Burlesque (2010)

At the tail end of musical month, the biggest musical of the year could not be skipped. Not to mention as a Golden Globe winner, for Cher's song, I had to get this one end at the end.

I'm not really sure I know who the target audience was for this film. I idea of the film stems from the director Steve Antin watching Christina Aguilera perform with The Pussycat Dolls back in 2002. It seems like the film was built around that, and little more. The premise is that small town Ali [Christina Aguilera] decides to move to LA because she is tired of living in a small town. Struggling to make ends meet she becomes a waitress at a Burlesque. Her goal is to be a performer, and when she finally does one of the stars sabotages her show forcing her to actually sing.

Some of the songs are ok. For a dead genre it wasn't that big of a flop, and I kind of enjoyed seeing Aguilera act. I honestly don't recognize her without being on stage performing so that was actually pretty cool. Cher was ok, and I don't understand why Stanley Tucci was in this film. He is a really good actor and should be taking on roles in better films. He acted really well in this film, but it clearly wasn't challenging for him. Step it up Tucci!

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1126591/

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The Red Shoes (1948)

This was one of the most bizarre musicals I have seen ever. It reminds me of a mix between Black Swan and the awful dream sequence in Oklahoma! The film is on a number of "Best" lists, including the 501 Must See Movies, imdb's top 250 bubbling under, and filesite lists top 100. A British film that I at least had the pleasure of watching in high definition in a spiffy remastering that recently came out.

The film is more of a fantasy ballet than a musical. The leading character's don't sing, but perform. I'm starting to realize that the musical genre encapsulates a number of "stage performance" films that aren't really musicals at all. The film centers around the redheaded Moira Shearer who plays Victoria Page, a young prima ballerina, who is under strict guidance of the company manager.

The performance of "The Red Shoes" ballet is very odd. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy the "stage" performance is impossible with a constantly changing scenery and bizarre direction. At first all I could think was "how the hell is this a possible performance?" I didn't get it, didn't like the characters, or the movie in general. Don't watch this one.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040725/

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Fame (1980)

One of the more current musical and part of the 501 Must See movie book. This film wasn't much of musical though, it was really about performing arts students with a few musical moments.

The film follows a group of students through school for the gifted in New York City. Starting with auditions and concluding with their graduation. We get to see the characters from their post-junior high immaturity to getting a grasp on their talents. Whether those talents are in dancing, singing, or musical instruments, all students are required to develop each and focus on one. The main characters are a sheepish Jewish girl, a boisterous hispanic boy, and a redheaded gay boy.

The famous scene using the title track involves a car driver who plays his sons music on loud speaker as the students are being dismissed. The kids run around bouncing off cars in traffic, all but starting a riot. The scenes with Coco being filmed at a sleazy "audition" and the gay boy explaining how his family treats his emotions like a sickness are the two most powerful. This isn't exactly a light-hearted movie, but overall it was better than I expected it to be.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080716/

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Porgy and Bess (1959)

The 3rd and final lost post.

Based on the novel Porgy and 1935 Gershwin Opera, this was a very difficult film to get a hold of. Much like Carmen Jones, this film stars Dorothy Dandridge and was directed by Otto Preminger, it also won the Golden Globe for best musical but also managed an Oscar win. It also features Sidney Poitier in a leading role as Porgy.

The Gershwin family owns the rights to the film, and lead for a change in directors. They then regretted the change when the final product came out "to Hollywood" and have since held the rights to the film. This means they have not been interested in remastering a film they didn't like, and it has not been released on DVD to this date. So finding a decent copy was hard, and the sound quality was poor, which hurts watching musicals.

The plot is that Bess' man Crown murders a man in town, when he goes on the run she is left without anyone to support her. She is left with only the local cripple Porgy to help her out. The problem with the film is that I felt like I was watching a play, not a movie. It was very stagy with few camera angles, few set changes, and bad singing. Dubbed like other Opera's turned musical and boring songs. I hate to say that I really didn't connect at all with this film. I doubt a better copy would have done much for me, and I can see why the Gershwin Family wasn't happy with the final product. Maybe they shouldn't have changed directors...

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053182/

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42nd Street (1933)

Moving on to the 2nd lost post.

Warner Baxter stars as a Broadway director who is afforded one last chance to make a successful show. It is not that he has had failures in the past, it is that the country is coming out of the depression and he has a history of nervous breakdowns. Bebe Daniels stars as the girl new to Broadway who is given a break, and trying to make it to the top. The film is famous and on a number of "Best" lists simply for being the "first." Not the first general musical, but the first musical that takes the audience behind the curtain. Showing how the show comes together, what auditions are like, what rehearsals are like, and traveling to shows.

I'm tired of watching films just because they are the first at something, there are a lot of sub-genres in the film industry to be a first of, and that isn't enough to call your movie good. Boring, slow, and made 90 minutes feel pretty long. Pass on this one.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024034/

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Carmen Jones (1954)

It is very frustrating to see that blogger has now lost three of my posts. Re-writing reviews of films that I didn't give "Worth Watching" scores is not exactly thrilling. So pardon me being brief.

Nominated for two Oscars and winner of the Golden Globe for best musical, this is the first musical themed after an Opera that I think I have seen. It is an interesting concept, and one I don't see being copied much today, and if you aren't familiar with the music can seem just plain strange. It is no secret that all of the singing in this film is dubbed, it is pretty clear from the first song that the talking voices do not match the singing voices. The film is directed by Otto Preminger and the music is by Oscar Hammerstein II who took the songs from Bizet Opera "Carmen" and re-wrote the lyrics to fit the modern theme.

The story is about a girl on a military base who gets what she wants, men that is. Careless and carefree with how she goes about getting her guys, and quick to jump from man to man regardless of how she ditches the previous one. Starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte, I found the acting above average but nothing special, and the music bothered me. I love the music from Carmen, so it was fun to hear it re-written for this film, but the dubbing bothers me. You can't expect the actors to be able to sing opera, which is why a film like this just didn't work very well.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046828/

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Guys and Dolls (1955)

I just got through saying that The King and I was my favorite musical so far in musical month. This one though was the best for me all month. Not necessarily a family oriented musical like The King and I but I loved the casting here.

I'm not going to lie though, seeing Marlon Brando in a musical was a little amusing, but I'm a big Frank Sinatra fan, so seeing him in a film where is sings was fantastic. The plot is actually pretty fun and even slightly unpredictable until the last 30 minutes or so. The best part of musical month is finding where some of the great songs came from. This one has two I really liked "Luck Be A Lady" and "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat" and the theatrical performances behind these were enjoyable to watch.

Quite simply the plot is all about gamblers. Nathan Detroit [Sinatra's character] runs the local craps game and Sky Masterson [Brando's character] is the high roller in town. When Nathan needs money he makes a bet with Sky that he can't take just any girl to Cuba for the weekend. Nathan picks a mission worker strongly opposed to gambling and sinful activities, and the plot is about Sky convincing her to go.

Fun story, good cast, good music, one of my favorites now.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048140/

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The Music Man (1962)

I've actually had this film for some time now. My grandmother took me to see this performed live 8-10 years ago so I haven't been all that interested in seeing something that I felt I had already seen. Truth be told when I started it up I couldn't even remember what it was about, but about 10 minutes into it, it all came back to me.

A traveling salesman, Mr. Hill [Robert Preston], has a scheme going where he travels around selling band equipment to the people of a small town with the promise of teaching their kids how to play the instruments. When the equipment arrives and he is paid he runs off. With each town the scheme grows and he sells more items, first sheet music, then uniforms, etc. The problem with this latest town is that is starts to fall for the librarian, Marian [Shirley Jones], and we also learn that actually conducting a band has always been a dream of his. So in a way running away at the last minute he has been running away from himself and commitment, just as much as the people he sold the instruments to.

For a film were I knew the outcome, I found it really quite good. I watched is because it won the Golden Globe, and was surprised to see that it won an Oscar and was nominated for 5 more.


Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056262/

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The King And I (1956)

Yul Brynner & Deborah Kerr star in one of the best Rodgers & Hammerstein films and overall musicals of all time. Winner of 5 Oscars and 2 Golden Globes and a film for all ages.

This has been the best movie in musical month so far. Brynner was fantastic, Kerr wasn't bad, I hate to say that a number of actresses could have made that role work for them, but she was a good fit and had a good voice to back it up. Back to Brynner though, his comedic timing and over usage of "American" terms were fantastic, like the "etc., etc." he uses. It reminded me of Seinfeld using the "yada yada."

This is the kind of musical that Rodger & Hammerstein made formulaic though. With key musical voices in specific roles, and with songs consistent and well placed. To me the story had a few holes, like what was her son doing during all of this? Did he have his own room, was he in class with the King's kids? Overall I really liked it and am a little surprised this isn't in the imdb 250.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049408/

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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Howard Hawks directed almost 50 films in his day. From action, to film-noir, to westerns, to gangster films, and even musicals. This musical of his paired up Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. 60 years later it is hard to believe that this film was purchased by Fox for Betty Grable but they felt that Monroe was just as good of a sex symbol and far less expensive. Russell was actually payed much better and the bigger star at the time than Monroe, who's name will probably live longer.

So what is this film about? Monroe is a gold digger, and Russell is looking for love. They take a ship to Europe and happen to be on board with the US Olympic team (perfect for Russell's character) and with an owner of a diamond mine in South Africa (perfect for Monroe's character). The film has some ok song and dance scenes. Honestly I find Monroe's acting to be atrocious and fake, she does however manage a few witty one liners in all of her films. Like: "I can be smart when it's important, but most men don't like it."

The best part of musical month is seeing famous songs being performed. This one features "Diamonds are a girls Best Friend," a Monroe performance that will always be iconic, and probably reason enough to check this one out. The film as a whole was not great, but what do you expect.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045810/

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The Broadway Melody (1929)

The 2nd ever winner of the Best Picture Oscar, and credited as the 2nd musical film ever made. The movie poster even boasts that is has "talking"! I can't imagine being around in a time where mixing video and audio was so new and interesting, so finding this film good was very difficult.

I don't think the actors and actresses were good, actually I found them to be pretty awful. It sounded like there were reading lines, and I imagine that not only were they reading lines, but they were some of the first to do so. There was no acting school right? So maybe it isn't fair to judge here, but I didn't find the story all that good.

The song and dance routines were pretty fun, but I have to say... there seems to be a trend in musicals were most stage performers are very nasty people. Cutthroat, crude, and rude. I don't get it. Anyways, at least it was short.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019729/

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Viva Las Vegas (1964)

For musical month I have been trying to watch a lot of stuff that I should be able to say I've seen. One thing on that list is an Elvis movie. With 31 films to his credit on imdb Elvis Presley is an actor I have yet to sit and watch through an entire feature film. From what I can tell this is one of the most popular, and the pairing with Ann-Margret was something I was wanting to see also.

The plot in this film is minimal, something I expect from a television sitcom from that era. Elvis plays "Lucky" who is in Vegas for a car race, and his car doesn't even have an engine yet. A French Count and him start vying for the same girl, a swim instructor at a hotel who is going to college in Vegas. All competitions are in good fun and the dancing reminds me of what your parents think are dancing. You can't help but laugh at Ann-Margret's moves and clothing.

At only 85 minutes it is a quick watch, and never really gets painful. I'll have to watch a few more Elvis movies to tell you if this is the one to check out, because it wasn't good, I just don't know if the rest are even worse.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058725/

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Oklahoma! (1955)

A must see musical for me. Born and raised in Oklahoma it was starting to get embarrassing to say that I had not seen this film. A winner of two Oscars in the 50's and full of songs I have heard many many times.

So what is the film about? Curly and Laurey like each other but not dating, when Curly takes too long to ask Laurey to the dance she let's Jed take her. Jed is the hired hand on her mother's ranch, an odd [and creepy] character that takes great offense when Curly is around.

There is a side plot with an easy girl who has a peddler and local boy both courting her. She is to daft to deny either of their advances, and the comic relief of this love triangle gets annoying fast.

The dream dance sequence ruined this film for me. What could have been a solid 7 and maybe even an 8 dropped to barely worth watching after a 20 minute sequence where the main character changed, the dialog ended, and the dancing went on, and on, and on.

A must watch, but not necessarily a worthwhile watch. I'm glad that I can now say I have seen this one.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048445/

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Gigi (1958)

Considered by some to be one of the weakest Oscar years, Gigi managed to win an incredible 9 Oscars in 1959. As well as 3 Golden Globes and a Grammy.

Starring Leslie Caron [An American in Paris and Chocolat] and Louis Jourdan. This is one of those "foreign" film in English. It takes place in Paris, and everyone speaks English with a fake French accent. I find films like this annoying in an era of film-making where they assume the world speaks only English. I diverge...

Jourdan plays a rich playboy who spends countless nights with different women on his arm, when he wants to get away from that lifestyle he goes to play cards with the young Gigi [Caron]. It starts as a platonic relationship, but after a weekend trip to the beach things start to change. A cute story, and not a bad film. I didn't find any of the song particularly special and it definitely didn't live up to winning nine Oscars.

Just ok for me, not a bad musical, but I could pass.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051658/

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Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)

The 501 Must See movies book has been goal of mine for some time. The book is divided into 10 genres with 50 films each [plus 1] and the musical genre is the one I have seen the least in. Couple that with having seen very few of the musical/comedy golden globe winners I have decided to dedicate April to Musical Month.

Starting with a musical that is actually on a number of lists, Filmsite 100, 501 Must See Movies, in the National Film Registry, nominated for 4 Oscars, and the 1001 Movie Book this is a musical I've actually been looking forward to.

Set in the year before the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, the story revolves around Esther [Judy Garland] and her family [3 sisters, mother, father, and maid]. Dad is offered a job in New York and decided to move the family after Christmas. The preparation of leaving St. Louis is the focus of the film and how great the city is, is the theme for many of the songs.

I was probably a little harsh on the rating since it is the first of a month full of musicals that are sure to get worse. It wasn't bad, I just didn't love it. It was a little long at times, but the pace of songs was good.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037059/

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A Hard Day's Night (1964)

A glorified extended music video considered a great film. Treated like "normal" day in the life of the Beatles, this film is popular just because of nostalgia. Just because you like them and their music, does NOT mean they can act.

Beatles telling jokes and their songs playing in the background is basically the entire film. A running gag with Paul's grandfather is beyond stupid and the jokes are cookie cutter and pathetic. The songs even repeat, with all the Beatles songs available they couldn't fill the film with different ones? I didn't just find this film boring, I found it painful to watch. Counting the minutes left from about 20 minutes in.

I'm very leery about watching the other Beatles movies now.

Vote: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058182/

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick star in the cult classic that questions people's taste in film. A musical about transexual's and the breakdown of morality. The film is almost a demonstration of how easily a "good" Christian couple just after engaged can be easily influenced to sin.

The plot starts with the couple breaking down outside of Dr. Frank-N-Furter [a play on Dr. Frankenstein], they enter the castle and are pushed around and subjected to witness a "creature" brought to life. The method taken from The Curse of Frankenstein rather than the original.

Meat Loaf has a strange cameo, and the entire film seems to be based around the only catchy song "Time Warp." Sure the song is fun but the idea of going to a midnight showing and reenacting the dances in this film is beyond me.

To each their own, I saw this a decade ago and don't remember it being this bad. I would say avoid this one, but you just have to see it to understand.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/

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The Court Jester (1955)

Probably the most painful movie off hand from the AFI 100 Laughs. Considered a musical because of the random song-and-dance that breaks out several times. Danny Kaye is funny, but not funny enough to carry a film.

Most surprising was Angela Lansbury, I've only seen her in The Manchurian Candidate where she was already 37 years old. Seeing her at 30 was different. I'm so used to the old lady from "Murder, She Wrote", you know... the mystery tv series about the lady that is in the wrong place at the wrong time every week. People seem to have the instinct to commit homicide any time she is around.

Glynis Johns is the hottie in this movie though, she plays a leader of the rebel force trying to overthrow the tyrant king. This zany musical comedy might have been appropriate for the 1950s but doesn't translate well to the 2010s. It just comes across as silly and almost stupid, incredibly cheesy and painful at times. Avoid this one.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049096/

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