Cult Flops - The Phantom of the Opera

Warner Bros, 2004
Starring Gerald Butler, Emily Rossum, Patrick Wilson, and Minnie Driver
Directed by Joel Schumaker
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe

From today through the day before Halloween, we're going to be celebrating the spookiest time of year with some truly terrifying horror musicals. Some you may not have heard of; others are classics, or at least cult favorites. Take this one from the early 2000's. This adaptation of the beloved still-running (at press time) Broadway operetta was a major flop on first release. It's become more popular over the years with romantics, fans of Schumaker's other movies, and young women who enjoy the spectacle and crush on the unfortunate title character. Let's dive deep below the stage of the Paris Opera to see if this dark tale is worthy of it's stage predecessor...or if it deserves to have a ten-ton chandelier dropped on it.

The Story: After a brief prologue at an auction in 1919, we travel back to 1870 at the Paris Opera. The resident diva Carlotta (Driver) refuses to go on before a performance of a major show. The infamous "ghost" who supposedly resides in the catacombs below the building has been tormenting her. The new managers Firmin (Ciaran Hinds) and Andre (Simon Callow) put on her understudy, sweet and naive Christine Daae (Rossum) on the suggestion of ballet director Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson).

Christine insists that she has an "Angel of Music" who has been teaching her. The opera's new patron and her former childhood friend Raoul (Wilson) thinks she's making it all up, but it turns out to be no mere fancy. She's being coached by the infamous Phantom (Butler) himself, who is obsessed with her. He wants her to sing the lead in the next opera, but she doesn't have the experience. The managers go with Carlotta...until the Phantom sabotages her performance and Christine finishes. Trouble is, Christine is also in love with Raoul. The Phantom is wildly jealous. It only gets worse when the duo announce their engagement during a New Year's masquerade ball, and later when Raoul defeats the Phantom in a duel near Christine's father's grave.

The Phantom wants his Don Juan opera performed, with Christine as the star. The managers and Raoul go through with it in the hopes of trapping him. But the Phantom still has one more ace up his sleeve. He is determined that the curtain will rise on his magnum opus...and the chandelier will fall on those who scorned him and his music.

The Song and Dance: Say what you will about Schumaker and his work, but this is a director who knows how to handle spectacle. While some of the CGI is obvious today, most of it sparkles with color and vibrancy. The Oscar-nominated art direction and cinematography shows off the Paris Opera and the cemetery where the Phantom and Raoul have their encounter in all their plush glory.

It's the ladies who really carry the day here. Driver was dubbed for some numbers, but she's otherwise perfect as the hilarious diva Carlotta. Rossum is appropriately sweet and winsome as Christine, and has an angelic voice to match. Richardson does well as the quiet and mysterious Madame Giry, who knows a lot more than she's telling about the Phantom and why he haunts the Opera House.

Favorite Number: The big ensemble songs "Masquerade" and "Prima Donna" were as colorful and swirling as one could wish, with some nice choreography in the latter. I also liked the delicate "Think of Me" early-on, as Raoul realizes how much Christine has grown. Driver actually gets to sing the new credits song "Learn to Be Lonely," which was also nominated for an Oscar.

Trivia: The movie had been in production since the late 80's, and apparently, Andrew Lloyd Webber had always wanted Schumaker to direct. Original stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were set to reprise their roles as Christine and the Phantom, at least until Brightman's divorce from Webber put everything on hold. Other women considered for Christine included Anne Hathaway and Katie Holmes; other Phantoms auditioned included Hugh Jackman.

What I Don't Like: Butler's the biggest problem. While his macho action-star prowess does come in handy in some of the more swashbuckling sequences like the duel, he's waaaaayyyy out of  his league with the music and the heavier dramatics. No amount of lessons could change the fact that he simply can't sing. He's flat-out painful in duets with the far-better Rossum and in numbers where he's called on to be all dark and tragic, like "The Music of the Night." Wilson is a decent singer, but despite having Broadway experience, he's flat and dull as Raoul and has no chemistry whatsoever with Rossum. It makes you wonder what she sees in either man.

The spectacle mostly does still work today...but some of the early 2000's CGI is very obvious, especially in dimly-lit scenes like the cemetery duel. The makeup work on Butler could have been a lot better, too. He doesn't look scary. He looks a little red and wrinkled, too pretty-boy to strike terror into the hearts of the entire cast of an opera house.

The Big Finale: It's not great, but it's definitely better than I thought it would be from the critical response. If you're a fan of the stage show, Schumaker's other movies, or Driver and can live with miscasting of the title character, it's worth checking out once.

Home Media: As one of the newer movies I've reviewed, this one is pretty easily found in most formats. The one to watch out for is the two-disc special edition DVD, which includes two documentaries on the movie and stage show and a cut song for the Phantom, "No One Would Listen."

2-Disc Collector's DVD
Collector's Edition Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime