Happy New Year's Eve! - It Happened On 5th Avenue

Monogram/Allied Artists Productions, 1947

Starring Gale Storm, Victor Moore, Don DeFore, and Charlie Ruggles

Directed by Roy Del Ruth

Music by Harry Revel; Lyrics by Harry Revel and Paul Francis Webster

Our last review of 2024 takes us to New York for a lesser-known holiday classic. Monogram had specialized in B movies and cheap programmers for over a decade by then. Hoping to improve their image, they created Allied Artists as their A-picture unit. This romantic comedy would be their first production. It cost over a million, made almost two million at the box office, and scored an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Is it worthy of that praise and popularity, or should it be thrown out in the cold? Let's begin as Mr. Aloysius T. McKeever (Moore) explain his living situation and find out...

The Story: McKeever spends his winters living in the boarded-up 5th Avenue mansion of Michael O'Connor (Ruggles), the second-wealthiest man in the world. He takes in former soldier Jim Bullock (DeFore) when the building he's living in is demolished. Jim invites his old war buddies and their families who are living out of cars to stay, too. Trudy (Storm), an 18-year-old girl who claims she's a runway, turns up there and ends up staying as well. 

Turns out Trudy is the daughter of O'Connor, who comes to the house looking for her. She tells him she's in love with Jim and hasn't revealed her real identity because he wants him to love her for more than her money.  Mike ends up posing as a homeless man and joining the household, but gets fed up when McKeever treats him like a servant and threatens to call the police. Trudy calls her mother and his ex-wife Mary (Ann Harding) to convince him otherwise. She becomes the household's cook, and to the delight of her daughter and McKeever, falls for Mike all over again.

Mike, however, still objects to his daughter marrying a penniless man. He outbids Mike on buying army barracks that would have been turned into housing for homeless soldiers and offers him a job in Bolivia for a single man. It isn't until he almost loses his family - and sees how his selfishness is effecting everyone's morale - that he begins to understand that love...and Christmastime...are more than a business transaction.

The Song and Dance: No wonder this was such a hit. I'm impressed with how charming and well-written this was. Veteran character actors Moore, Harding, and Ruggles clearly enjoy their roles as the homeless man who has no trouble living in other people's splendor and the unhappy rich couple who learn that money can't buy happiness or real connection with one another. Storm doesn't do badly as their feisty teen daughter, either, coming off far better here than she ever did in her many musicals with Monogram and RKO, with DeFore matching her well as the strong-willed soldier with a dream. The witty script keeps things believable, even when the plot is at its silliest.

The Numbers: We open over the credits with "That Wonderful, Wonderful Feeling," which Trudy, McKeever, and Jim also sing in the park right before they find Mike. Everyone sings "That's What Christmas Means" on Christmas Eve as Trudy plays the piano and McKeever dresses as Santa Claus. The chorus gives us "Speak My Heart" as Jim comes looking for Trudy at the music store. Trudy sings "You're Everywhere" as part of her interview for the music store job; we also hear it as Jim talks to her afterwards. Three Italian men sing "Santa Lucia" in the restaurant where Trudy and Jim have their quarrel over him taking the Bolivian job.

Trivia: Frank Capra was originally going to direct this, but opted for It's a Wonderful Life instead. 

What I Don't Like: Cute though this is, I wonder what would have happened if Capra or another prestigious director had taken a crack at it. Del Ruth spent most of his career jumping back and forth between action films and musicals, and his work on this comes off as a bit bland. It would be nice if he'd let even one of the few musical numbers finish. In fact, I wish there were more of them. This might have made a very sweet full musical. DeFore, Storm, Ruggles, and Moore had all done musicals and were good singers, and Harding could have at least gotten by. There's also times when it's clear that Monogram hadn't quite tossed off that cheap image, notably when projected backdrops stand in for New York.

The Big Finale: It's not really a musical, but it is a lovely snuggly comedy with a cute cast and nice performances that deserves to be better-known.

Home Media: Apparently, this vanished for 20 years before it started turning up again on TCM around 2010. Nowadays, it's easy to find on disc and streaming. The former is from the Warner Archives; the latter is on Tubi for free with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Snow Queen (1959)

Universal-International, 1959

Voices of Sandra Dee, Tommy Kirk, Paul Frees, and Patty McCormick

Directed by Lev Atamanov

Music by Diane Lampert; Lyrics by Richard Loring

Frozen wasn't the first time the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Snow Queen was made into a major animated film. This was one of the first films from the Soviet Union to get an export to the US during the height of the early Cold War rivalry between the two countries. This first translation wound up being one of the most influential animated films of the mid-20th century, particularly in Japan and the US. How does this retelling of the little girl who seeks the enigmatic ice ruler who abducted her friend look today? Let's begin, at least in this version, with TV personality Art Linkletter giving Christmas gifts to children before telling them the story and find out...

The Story: Ol' Dreamy (Frees), a tiny elf in a book-filled room, narrates our tale. Gerda (Dee) and Kai (Kirk) were the closest of friends, until Kai insulted the Snow Queen (Louise Arthur). The frozen ruler sends shards of ice into Kai's heart and eyes, making him cruel and hateful. Ignoring Gerda, he ties his sled to the Snow Queen's sleigh. She wants to teach him a lesson and brings him to her palace. 

Gerda is despondent without her friend and leaves the city to find him. No one can stop Gerda from bringing home her beloved friend, not the Summer Witch (June Foray) who tries to make her forget Kai, the Prince (Dick Beals) she mistakes for Kai, or even the spirited robber girl (McCormick) who takes her prisoner. With the help of the robber kid's reindeer and a kindly Laplander native (Foray), she's able to make her way to the frozen north and free her dearest friend from the clutches of the icy royal.

The Animation: I can see why this was so influential. You can see the genesis of many fairy-tale animated films that came out in the later 20th and early 21st century here, from Rankin-Bass specials to recent Disney hits. This looks like the most exquisite Disney fantasy from this era, with the adorable children, the wobbly, grotesque bandits that look like they come from some of Mickey Mouse's earliest shorts, and some of the beautiful, almost painterly backdrops and shadowy, snowy woods. 

The Song and Dance: I've only seen the Universal version, but it is charming. Dee is lovely and Frees and Foray have some funny moments, but the real winner in the first English cast is McCormick. She's clearly having a ball playing the tough robber's daughter who would never admit that she actually has a heart under that thief's hide. She's so upset and so touching when she finally lets Gerda and her animal friends go, you really do feel sorry for her. No wonder her animals went back, despite the abuse she gave them earlier. 

The Numbers: Linkletter kicks us off as he admonishes his charges to gaze into a "magic" mirror with "One, Two Snowflakes." That leads us directly into the jaunty title song, which largely makes the Snow Queen sound a lot more pleasant than she actually ends up being. "Do It While You're Young" is the brief number that eventually awakens Gerda when she's under the Summer Fairy's trance and reminds her that she must find Kai. "The Jolly Robbers" perform their chorus number as they go after Gerda.

Trivia: This wasn't the last time The Snow Queen would be translated for English-speaking audiences. A 1985 release that made it to video in 1993 used three voices, added rock songs, and wasn't well-received. The third dubbing debuted in 1995 as part of the series Stories From My Childhood and had a far more star-studded voice cast that included Mickey Rooney as Ol' Dreamy, Kirsten Dunst as Gerda, and Kathleen Turner as the Snow Queen. 

What I Don't Like: Critics apparently took potshots at the silly Art Linkletter opening with the kids even in 1959, and yeah, they're right. It's completely unnecessary, and nowadays, annoyingly dated. He and the kids are never heard from again after their chant, not even for a few minutes in the finale. Kirk sounds stiff and bored even when he's supposed to be having fun with Gerda in the opening and doesn't get anywhere near the two girls' performances. 

The Big Finale: Even with some so-so performances and the unmemorable songs, this is still highly recommended for the gorgeous animation alone. 

Home Media: Considering how easy it is to find this nowadays, this is practically in the public domain in the US. It's currently free on Tubi with commercials. The version on YouTube uses the 2020 Russian restoration with the 1959 voice cast (sans the Linkletter opening). 

DVD

Tubi

YouTube

A Complete Unknown

20th Century Fox/Searchlight Pictures, 2024

Starring Timothy Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and Monica Babaro

Directed by James Mangold

Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan and others

We return to the biographical well for our last theatrical musical film of 2024. Bob Dylan is one of the most beloved and influential singers and songwriters in the world. His music inspired everyone from the Beatles onward to dig a little deeper, be a little more poetic, and take stronger chances. He started out as a folk singer in the early 60's, but by 1965, he was lamenting the restrictive world of folk and having to sing other people's songs. His attempt to bust out of the mold and gain his own artistic freedom by playing with a band and an electric guitar was hugely controversial in the folk world at the time. How well does this film depict what caused that controversy? Let's begin with Dylan (Chalamet) as he arrives in New York City to meet  his hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and find out...

The Story: Dylan eventually travels to a hospital in New Jersey, where Guthrie is bed-ridden and unable to speak, to play a song he wrote for him. Guthrie and fellow folk legend Pete Seeger (Norton) are so impressed with his performance, Seeger takes him in and introduces him to New York's folk scene. He meets pretty civil activist Sylvie Russo (Fanning) at a concert and falls for her, eventually getting an apartment together. 

Dylan's equally attracted to folk star Joan Baez (Babaro) after seeing her play and flirting with her. Manager Albert Grossman (Dan Fogler) is so enamored with him, he takes him on as a client and encourages Columbia Records to let him make an album. They order him to sing covers of folk songs rather than his own material, something he hates. He and Baez have an affair after Russo goes on a long work trip to Europe and he starts to create more socially-conscious material.

By 1964, Dylan's one of the most popular stars of folk and rock music, and he and Russo have separated. He's seriously beginning to regret his desire for fame. All anyone wants him to do is play the same songs he did on his previous albums. He's so tired of it, he won't even sing them with Baez on tour. Looking for a new sound, he starts recording his next record Highway 61 Revisited with an electric guitar, something that's shunned by the folk community, which prefers simpler acoustic arrangements. It becomes a bitter feud between Dylan and the arrangers of the Newport Folk Festival, including a shocked Seeger. In the end, he learns the price of freedom when he does get what he wants...but damages his relationships with Seeger and the women in his life in the process.

The Song and Dance: This is the second December in a row Chalamet put in an incredible performance as  an enigmatic, eccentric genius in a musical film. His Dylan is no charming Willy Wonka, but a mysterious figure who keeps everything about himself hidden, from his childhood to just what's going on in his troubled head. Fanning and particularly Babaro more than match him as the women who inspired by him, but were driven away by his ego and inability to talk about himself. Norton is also excellent as the gentle Seeger, who is afraid for what Dylan's electric experiment means for the future of his beloved folk music, and there's Boyd Holbrook as country legend Johnny Cash. Though mostly filmed in New Jersey rather than New York or Rhode Island, the cinematography and Mangold's simple direction still manages to mostly capture both Dylan's gritty world and the little odd moments that show Dylan at is mercurial best.

The Numbers: We open with the "Song for Woody" that so impressed the two old folk musicians. This leads into "I Was Young When I Left Home." He does his own "Girl from the North Country" with Baez at that concert he spends flirting with her after being impressed with her version of the traditional folk ballad "Silver Dagger." He gets in his own "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall." Seeger performs the South African number "Wimoweh" (better known to most people as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") for an enraptured crowd at Town Hall. Baez is almost as popular with her "House of the Rising Sun" shortly before her affair with Dylan

"Folsom Prison Blues" introduces Cash, who encourages Dylan to sing his own material his way. He does "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" with Baez before the Civil Rights movement and Cuban Missile Crisis inspire his "Masters of War" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues." He and Baez get "Blowin' In the Wind," a big signature number for both. Cash is heard doing his own "Big River," while Dylan insists "The Times, They are A-Changin'"...even if the folk community doesn't like it. He joins Seeger and black blues man Jesse Moffette for a dynamic "When the Ship Comes In" on a local educational TV show Seeger hosts. After Bob refuses to sing "Blowin' In the Wind" and barely finishes "It Ain't Me, Babe" Joan gives the audience at the disastrous tour a version of "There but for Fortune." They record "Highway 61 Revisited," complete with a whistle Dylan picked up from a street busker, in New York. 

"Maggie's Farm" kicks off the Newport Beach Festival with a literally and figuratively electric performance. Chalamet does so well capturing Dylan's raw performance style here, you're glad when Seeger's Japanese wife Toshi (Eriko Hastsune) refuses to let her husband turn the sound down. "Like a Rolling Stone" is even better, with the pure energy rolling off the stage in waves. This is followed by "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Lot to Cry." "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is the song he finally plays the the acoustic guitar.

Trivia: The New York scenes were filmed in Jersey City; the ones set at the hotel in Newport were actually filmed in Cape May at the southern tip of New Jersey.

Everyone in the film did their own singing, including Chalamet.

The real name of the Sylvie Russo character is Suze Rotolo. Dylan insisted her name be changed to protect her privacy. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, this is a nitpick, but I grew up in Cape May and walked past the Victorian Hotel (the Viking Hotel in the movie) and its yellow next-door neighbor Congress Hall a thousand times as a kid. I don't know how much Jersey City and Paterson look like New York, but I do know Cape May is pretty obviously not Newport. (I also recognized the North Cape May Ferry Terminal when Sylvie was leaving town.)

Second, and more importantly, while this isn't quite your standard biopic, it does hit some standard beats. The focus on Dylan's music comes at the expense of Fanning, who doesn't really have as much to do in the second half after she breaks up with him. It tries hard to get under Dylan's skin...and it becomes frustrating when it almost, but doesn't quite succeed. Apparently, only a few documentaries have come anywhere near truly revealing the inner workings of Dylan's genius. Also, rough language and the focus on Dylan's affairs makes this for adult folk lovers only. Start your older kids on the earlier albums represented here if you want them to learn more about Dylan. 

The Big Finale: If you love Dylan or Chalamet or want to catch some truly electric performances this Christmas season, head to the theater to check out how one restless young man changed the way music was presented forever. 

Home Media: The soundtrack is currently available for streaming and will be released on vinyl in January and CD in late February.

Amazon Music

Merry Christmas Eve! - Christmas Eve On Sesame Street

PBS, 1978

Starring Bob McGrath, Debbie Chen, Will Lee, and Roscoe Orman; Muppet Voices of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Carroll Spinney, and Jerry Nelson

Directed by Jon Stone

Music and Lyrics by various

We celebrate the holidays in New York with the 70's cast of one of the most beloved children's shows on television. By the time this and the prime-time show A Special Sesame Street Christmas debuted in 1978, Sesame Street was an institution that taught children numbers, letters, and many life lessons via short clips, skits, cartoons, and its diverse cast of Muppets and humans. Many of the most famous Muppets and humans appear in this lovely special that was one of the big holiday offerings on PBS that season. Is it still as much fun over 45 years later? Let's head to a skating rink in New York City as the Muppets, their neighbors, and skaters from the professional show Holiday On Ice show their stuff and find out...

The Story: After the skating party, Oscar the Grouch (Spinney) tells Big Bird (Spinney) and little Patty (Chen) that if Santa can't get down those skinny New York chimneys, no one will get any presents! The duo spend the rest of their Christmas Eve trying to figure out how Santa does it. They ask Kermit the Frog (Henson), but his and Grover's (Oz) interviews of local kids don't produce the desired results. Having Mr. Snuffleupagus (Nelson) pose as Santa only ends with him stuck in a trash canister. Big Bird finallydecides to go to the roof and find out himself...but when Patty realizes he's gone, the entire neighborhood turns out to find him.

Elsewhere on Sesame Street, Bert and Ernie want to buy presents for each other, but they have no money. They turn to Mr. Hooper (Lee) to exchange the things they love most for them. Mr. Hooper, however, knows what they really want. Cookie Monster would love to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas...if he could stop eating the writing utensils!

The Song and Dance: This couldn't be a greater contrast between this and Special Sesame Street Christmas. Made by Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) on PBS with the regular cast and most of the regular Muppet characters of the time, it's heartwarming, adorable, and very funny rather than too cheesy or over-the-top. Spinney has the most fun as the wistful Big Bird, who just wants to know if Santa will get through, and the cynical Oscar. Ernie and Bert's side plot is just as sweet, especially if you're familiar with the famous O.Henry short story it's based on. Cookie Monster has a few good gags with him getting so into thinking about cookies and treats, he eats anything he could use to write Santa.

The Numbers: We open with the skating party and the Holiday On Ice ensemble. Full body puppets of Ernie, Bert, the Count, Oscar, and Cookie Monster show off, while a child helps Big Bird skate to the tune of "Feliz Navidad." "True Blue Miracle" is a chorus number, performed by all the human neighbors as they buy their trees and wreaths on the way home from the skating rink. Big Bird spends the song telling an unimpressed Oscar his ideas for how Santa gets down those chimneys. 

Bob Johnson (Bob McGrath) performs "Keep Christmas With You" as local kids do the song in sign language for his deaf girlfriend Linda (Linda Bove). Oscar's not a fan of holidays period, as he complains in "I Hate Christmas." Bert and Ernie sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" after they open their gifts and realize how much they mean to one another. The entire cast reprises "Keep Christmas With You" just before the end credits, after they find Big Bird. 

Trivia: This won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program in 1979. 

What I Don't Like: This might seem slow or corny compared to many children's holiday specials today. I'm not sure what younger children will think of this now. It was made well before the debut of such popular recent Muppets as Elmo, Julia, or Rosita. Most of the neighbors are very different, too. Maria's with David rather than Luis, Bob has a girlfriend, and there's Mr. Hooper, who has been gone for so long, many adults may not remember him, let alone their kids. 

The Song and Dance: If you have fond memories of seeing this one on TV or video in the 70's and 80's or have children who love Big Bird and won't mind the lack of recent characters, this sweet trip to Sesame Street during the holidays is very highly recommended. 

Home Media: It's on Amazon Prime and Max, but most streaming copies cut either the "Feliz Navidad" skating sequence or the end stinger with Cookie Monster after having eaten Olivia and Gordon's Christmas tree. You may be better off looking for this one on DVD, either solo or paired with the much later holiday special Elmo's Christmas Countdown.

DVD

DVD - Holiday Double Feature: Elmo's Christmas Countdown/Christmas Eve On Sesame Street

Amazon Prime

Musicals On Streaming - Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

Netflix, 2022

Voices of Luke Evans, Jonathan Pryce, Johnny Flynn, and Fra Fee

Directed by Stephen Donnelly

Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Stephen Donnelly, and Jeremy Holland-Smith

We head to England for our next story. This is a partial remake of Scrooge, the 1970 British musical with Albert Finney as the title character and Sir Alec Guinness as Jacob Marley. The film's remained relatively popular during the holiday season, especially in it's native United Kingdom, enough for low-mid budget animation company Timeless to try turning the world's most famous Christmas story into an animated musical. How well did they pull it off? Let's begin with Harry Scrooge (Fee) explaining why he loves this time of year while out and about in London and find out...

The Story: Scrooge (Evans) refuses to come to Harry's Christmas dinner party, or have anything to do with him. He resents that his beloved sister Jan (Jemima Lucy Newton) died giving birth to him. He also won't give money to the poor or let his clerk Bob Cratchit (Flynn) have coal or pay him much, and he forces those in debt to him to pay on Christmas Eve. 

The miserly old man learns a lesson when the ghost of his former boss Jacob Marley (Pryce) appears and tells him he'll be haunted by three ghosts. Past (Olivia Coleman) reminds him how he pushed away his fiancee Isabel (Jessie Buckley) after Jan's death and he left his old boss Mr. Fezziwig (James Cosmo) for the higher-paying Marley. Jolly Present (Trevor Dion Nicholas) shows him the wonderful party he's missing at Harry's and Bob's dinner with his beloved family, including his sickly son Tim (Rupert Trumbull). It's the frightening, silent Future that finally gets across to Scrooge what his nastiness is doing to those around him, and what will happen to them and him if he doesn't change his ways.

The Animation: Sometimes, it looks waxier than the Ghost of Christmas Past, with all the sharp angles and even sharper movement. There's some amazing effects here, though. Past's shapeshifting into different characters and Present's amazing "I Like Life" dance routine are especially well-done. Jacob Marley has an awesome icy entrance, too, all blue, frosty, and angular.

The Song and Dance: There's a lot of interesting ideas here that I think are pretty creative. Considering most versions cut or shortchange the subplot with Scrooge's sister, I like how they connect Scrooge's resentment of his nephew to his difficulties with Christmas and how close he was to Jan here. There's also Scrooge having done nothing to stop Marley from closing the bakery belonging to a certain Mr. Cratchit, then wondering why his son chooses to work for him years later. Scrooge's enormous dog Prudence comes off less of an annoying sidekick and more sweet and loyal, especially when she's one of the only mourners at his funeral in the Future segment. 

The Numbers: The rollicking "I Love Christmas" opens things with a huge dance number that encompasses all of London and even includes Harry playing the saxophone. Bob sings to his "Christmas Children" as they make their way home for the holiday. Scrooge asks Prudence to "Tell Me" why everyone is so crazy about Christmas when it only makes him miserable. Sweet Jan sings gently about her "Christmas Wishes" to her brother working on Christmas Eve, before collapsing in his arms. Isabel and Scrooge dance in the stars as she tells him about her "Happiness," but her hopes for marriage are dashed when he falls more in love with making money and "Later Never Comes."

The Ghost of Christmas Present's "I Like Life" also becomes a huge number, with little cute Cheerlings playing instruments surrounding enormous glistening piles of confections. "The Beautiful Day" is Tiny Tim's sweet little solo at his family's Christmas dinner. "Thank You Very Much" is another big chorus number that basically covers all of London. Even Scrooge is singing along, not realizing that toy shop owner Tom Jenkins (Giles Terrera) is literally dancing on his coffin. He happily claims "I'll Begin Again" after he awakens, and everyone reprises "I Love Christmas" at a huge dinner where Scrooge gives to the charity-collectors, promotes Bob, and releases Tom from his debt. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, what's with the additional songs? None of them are as good as the Leslie Bricusse score from the live-action film, nor do they match their style or the time period. Among the missing numbers are the rousing "December the 25th" at Fezziwig's party (which is basically glossed over) and "A Christmas Carol" that opened and closed the original film. And often, the older songs are given orchestrations that render them almost unrecognizable. For something they dedicated to Bricusse (who died during production), they could have used more of his work.

For all the new ideas that work, others are just plain baffling. Why did they change the names of Scrooge's nephew and sister from Fred and Fan to Harry and Jan? Why does Scrooge look like a handsome middle-aged man rather than a decrepit elderly miser? Why did they change Scrooge's backstory to his father being in debtor's prison? It doesn't come off any better here than it did in Christmas Carol: The Musical. Harry is annoying and too pushy, making you understand a bit better why Scrooge would want nothing to do with him. 

Why are all of the  numbers turned up to 11? The opening and the Ghost of Christmas Present's solo lose their intimacy and charm done as huge productions. None of the kids look like sickly urchins, not even Tim. And while Prudence is a good loyal dog, neither she nor the silly little Cheerlings who appear mid-way through are necessary to the story.

The Big Finale: Not bad if you're prowling around Netflix looking for something to watch with the kids, but there's better versions of this story out there, including the original live-action film. 

Home Media: It's a Netflix exclusive at the moment. 

Netflix

It's Christmas Again

Mapelle Films, 2022

Starring Lawson Touliatos, Leela Owen, Dimintri Mareno, and Jason Burkley

Directed by Sandra L. Martin

Music by Quinten Coblenz; Lyrics by Wes Writer

We explore the less secular side of the holiday with this independent Christian film. I'm not the most religious person in the universe, but I was intrigued by the idea of seeing the birth of Christ through the eyes of a jaded teen boy. How did this come across in this low-budget family tuner? Let's begin with Jake (Touliatos) walking through his town and explaining why the holiday decorations and activities are important to the community and find out...

The Story: Jake wants his girlfriend Abbey (Owen) to go on a skiing trip with him and his family. Not only does her family want her to hang around for the holidays, but her mother encourages her to play Mary in a Christmas pageant that'll raise money for a local church. Jake's disappointed and angry with her, and is even more so when his little brother Oliver (Max Victory) breaks his ankle and his parents end up canceling that coveted skiing vacation. He jumps on his skateboard and heads over to a friend's house for a party, claiming he doesn't understand why everyone's making a fuss over Christmas and refusing to appear as a shepherd in the pageant.

After a nasty fall off his skateboard, he first awakens in Bethlehem just as Baby Jesus is born. To his shock, he's dressed as a shepherd, and the other local shepherds assume he's one of them. Two younger shepherds, one of whom looks a lot like Abbey, take him to see Baby Jesus and his mother Mary (Reina Ozbay). He's attacked by a Roman soldier (Nathan Kehn) after a big dinner with Abbey's family and finds himself back in his town and time...but now, the Christmas decorations and revelers are gone. Abbey claims no one has celebrated it in a long time. With the help of her and a homeless teen (Mareno), Jake becomes determined to bring Christmas back to his community and show everyone in the process that Christmas is truly about the spirit of giving, charity, and hope.

The Song and Dance: Some decent performances anchor this well-meaning parable. Touliatos is pretty funny as Jake, whether he's confronting Roman guards, his friends who would rather be somewhere sunny for Christmas, or trying to convince Abbey that Christmas is worth saving. Owen has a few nice moments as his girlfriend too, especially in the second half where she's the skeptical one and he's trying to make her see the light. In fact, I do like how they turn around their positions in the last third. It shows just how much Jake has changed. 

The Numbers: Jake introduces us to the many holiday activities and decorations around his town in the energetic opening title song. He's determined to do Christmas "My Way" at school, even if Abbey can't join him. Once in Bethlehem, he tells the shepherds that what they do is "Not for Me." The people in Bethlehem are more interested in "Gimmie, Gimmie" as they lament having to be counted for taxes. "Mary's Lullaby" soothes the Baby Jesus after the kids arrive. The big family dinner for Abigail and her mother and siblings turns into the "Bless This Home" chorus number that baffles Jake. He briefly sings "We Three Kings" to tell the other shepherds about the wise men who are on their way with gifts. 

"Hey Christmas" is another chorus number, this one in a coffee shop when Jake and his new homeless friend Joe try to explain the holidays to the clientele. "Time Stands Still" is Abbey's solo as she admits how much she misses her father. The trio "Reach Out a Hand" and deliver food to the poor and homeless who were displaced when the church closed. It ends with another huge chorus number and a reprise of the title song as Jake admits that there's a lot more to the holidays than the same old traditions.

What I Don't Like: First of all, it's obvious that this is a low-budget Christian film. The sets are cheap as heck, especially the Bethlehem that more closely looks like something that was filmed in the back of a church. The songs are dull pop and rap and, other than the title song, are totally unmemorable. There's also the cliche of the Mysterious Black Friend having been questioned quite a bit lately, and it gets played to the hilt in the second half. 

My biggest problems is this movie has plot holes big enough to drive a whole herd of sheep through. It should have either stayed in Bethlehem and let the kids meet the Wise Men, or gone the It's a Wonderful Life route and have Jake wake up and realize what the lack of holiday spirit has done to the town. Either one would have sustained a full plot. Or maybe kept the second half, but have him interfere with history in some way and and awaken to Christmas being gone everywhere, period, or never have existed to begin with. 

I can understand him dreaming the sequence in Bethlehem, but they never explain why he wakes up and is suddenly in a world where his town just stopped celebrating Christmas. They don't say how it happened, or how or if it's connected with the church, or why Abbey's father is suddenly dead during the last 20 minutes.

The Big Finale: This recommended only for the most ardent teen Christian movie fans or parents desperately searching for a holiday movie to entertain their teens for an hour and a half before Christmas dinner.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Tubi 

Musicals On TV - Rent Live! (2019)

Fox, 2019

Starring Brennin Hunt, Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, and Tinashe

Directed by Michael Greif and Alex Rudzinski

Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

After their success with Grease, Fox searched for another recent rock musical that could match its popularity with teens and young adults. Though the movie version of Rent wasn't a hit in 2005, the stage show continued to be a favorite of young people who enjoyed the story and unique characters. How well did it adapt to TV, especially after they ran into major trouble right before the broadcast? Let's begin with a black screen showing the words of Jonathan Larson himself and find out...

The Story: Mark Cohen (Fisher) is a documentary filmmaker who spends a year shooting life in and around the dilapidated building in Manhattan's East Village where he and his songwriter roommate Roger Davis (Hunt) live. Their former roommate and current landlord Benny (Mario) is demanding the rent, even going so far as to turn off the electricity and padlock the building. Part-time philosophy professor and their friend Tom Collins (Brandon Victor Dixon) falls for kind-hearted transvestite Angel Dumott Schunard (Valentina), while Roger gets involved with exotic dancer Mimi Marquez (Tinashe). 

Mark's ex-girlfriend Maureen Johnson (Hudgens) is a performance artist whose avant-garde one-woman protest against Benny's desire to build a "cyber studio" in place of their tenement sparks a riot on Christmas Eve. She's in an on-again, off-again relationship with uptight lawyer Joanne Jefferson (Kiersey Clemons), who doesn't appreciate Maureen's flirting with everything and anything. Roger's even less happy with Mimi's drug addiction and breaks it off with her, too. The group finally breaks up after Angel dies of complications from AIDS, with Mark selling his work to a network show and Roger heading for Santa Fe. Roger returns to New York when he can't forget Mimi. 

The Song and Dance: For something that was only intended to be a dress rehearsal, there's some genuinely good performances here. Real-life drag queen Valentina has an absolute blast as Angel, especially during the "Today 4 U" number. Hudgens is even more fun as flirtatious Maureen than she was as Rizzo in Grease Live, and Tinashe is a touching and delicate Mimi. That enormous industrial set, with its crisscrossing pipes, bright lights, and graffiti-covered "walls," definitely gives this show a gritty urban vibe and won deserved Emmys. And heck, that last 10 minutes or so with both the new and original cast singing "Seasons of Love" is pure electricity and almost worth the price of admission. 

The Numbers: "Tune Up #1 and #2" and "Voice Mail #1" introduce us to Mark, Roger, and their situation with the housing and Mark's big film-making project. "You Okay, Honey?" and "Rent" brings in Angel and Tom as they try to help a homeless man and explain the trouble with the building and what Maureen is protesting. Roger says what he wants is just "One Song Glory" and to be remembered for something great before he dies. "Light My Candle" introduces Mimi to Roger. Angel tells the guys she's going to take them on the town as she struts her stuff in feather-trimmed Christmas duds to "Today 4 U." 

Benny protests them not paying the rent, saying "You'll See" what he does to get rid of them. Mark and Joanne dance a "Tango; Maureen" as they discuss the woman they have in common and why she drives them crazy. "Life Support" and "Will I?" introduces the AIDS group Mark films, while Mimi laments having to go "Out Tonight." "Another Day" and "I Should Tell You" are Mimi and Roger's love duets; "I'll Cover You" is Tom and Angel's. Tom tells Mark and Angel he dreams of quitting his job and opening a restaurant in "Santa Fe." Joanne claims "We're Okay," while the others sing about those "Christmas Bells." Maureen's idea of a protest is doing a really strange number about cows jumping "Over the Moon." Everyone gets a lot more into the big first-act closing number "La Vie Boheme," despite Benny's protests.

The second act opens with everyone performing this show's biggest hit, "Seasons of Love" and wishing each other "Happy New Year!" Maureen and Joanne's argument ends with them telling each other to "Take Me or Leave Me," while Mimi and Roger try to live "Without You." "Contact" and the reprise of "I'll Cover You" depicts Angel's death and the heartfelt funeral afterwards. The entire group says "Goodbye Love" as they split up, with Roger and Mark fleeing New York in "What You Own." The "Finale" brings Roger back to Mimi as she reveals what she's seen after her near-death experience. The entire cast, including the cast of the original 1996 Broadway show, return over the end credits to encore "Seasons of Love."

Trivia: The last 15 minutes with "Seasons of Love" was the only scene that ended up being filmed live. Brennin Hunt broke his foot during the dress rehearsal, which is why he is in a wheelchair during the finale and they ended up broadcasting the dress rehearsal. 

What I Don't Like: The critics have a point. Why didn't Fox have stand-ins or understudies for the main cast, just in case someone did get hurt? Couldn't they have gotten someone else, or done it as a concert? This was advertised as a live show, and it didn't end up being that. And while I do think Rent is tailor-made for the small screen, it might be better off on streaming or a cable channel like MTV with less stringent standards. Fox altered lyrics and cut a lot of profanity and sexual and drug references. 

The Big Finale: This ended up being much better than I thought it would be from all the criticism it received in 2019. Worth checking out if you're a fan of the show, of Larsen's other work, or of other rock operas. 

Home Media: Currently available for purchase only at Amazon.

Amazon Prime (Purchase Only)

Musicals On TV - Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas

NBC/Warner Bros, 2014

Voices of Jim Parsons, Ed Asner, Mark Hamill, and Kate Miucci

Directed by Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh

Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin

The film Elf, about a human who was raised as an elf and goes to New York to get his father off the naughty list, was an instant sensation in 2003. Comedian Will Farrell had one of his biggest roles as Buddy, the enthusiastic, Christmas-loving human-sized elf who inspires the holiday spirit even in jaded New Yorkers. It became a Broadway show in 2010, and even then was popular during the holiday season. How does this story work as an animated holiday special? Let's begin in Christmastown as Santa (Asner) explains how Buddy (Parsons) was the happiest elf in the North Pole despite also being the clumsiest and find out...

The Story: As it turns out, Buddy isn't an elf. He's a human whose mother gave him up for adoption before her death. Santa sends him to New York to find his birth father Walter Hobbs (Hamill), who is on the naughty list. Walter is a high-powered publishing executive who spends more time trying to create a blockbuster Christmas children's book than with his wife Emily (Rachel MacFarlane) and son Michael (Max Charles) and thinks Christmas means nothing but making money.

Buddy doesn't have a pleasant introduction to the Big Apple. He's thrown out of Walter's office in the Empire State Building when he mistakes him for a singing telegram boy, then ends up at the Hobbs' apartment after he accidentally reveals a mall Santa to be an impostor and starts a brawl. Emily and Michael take to him far more than Walter after he helps Michael with a science project. Buddy's thrilled, and is even happier on a date with sweet but cynical Jovie (Miucci). His father just gets angry with him after he excitedly tears up an important manuscript. Buddy runs away, but his new family bring him back when Santa crashes, and Buddy could be the only one who can drum up enough Christmas spirit to get him back in the air.

The Animation: I really like the unique cut-paper stop-motion work they did here. It looks like the pop-up book Santa reads in the beginning, complete with fluffy clouds made of actual cotton and Wooly yarn or curly nylon hair. While a bit on the jerky side, that once again does kind of work with it being a pop-up book read by Santa. Some of the designs - notably Buddy and Walter's obnoxious boss Mr. Greenway (Gilbert Gottfried) - can be awkward or a little scary, though that was probably intentional in the case of the latter.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being much cuter than I thought it would be. Jim Parsons has just as much fun playing the energetic Buddy as Will Farrell did and sings the heck out of his numbers to boot. Hamill matches him as the executive who is so focused on making a blockbuster by Christmas Eve, he's forgotten what's important. The songs are a lot of fun too, especially Buddy's big decorating number with his family at their apartment and "The Story of Buddy the Elf" over the closing credits.

The Numbers: Santa's a bit annoyed with how the elves are "Happy All the Time" as they work in Christmastown, especially Buddy! Buddy's excited when he goes to find his father,  hoping he'll be the "World's Greatest Dad." Emily and Michael wistfully admire a department store display, telling Santa "I'll Believe In You" if only their husband and father would pay attention to them. They and Buddy use the cards in their house and a few umbrellas to make the austere Hobbs apartment "Sparklejollytwinklejingley." 

"A Christmas Song" explains Buddy's feelings on the holiday to Jovie as they dance on their date and why he loves it so much. After his father rejects him, Buddy joins a group of department store Santas (including Jay Leno) to lament "Nobody Cares About Santa." Emily and Michael rally the New Yorkers in Central Park by claiming "There Is a Santa Claus." This leads into a reprise of "A Christmas Song," ending with the cast singing Buddy's tale over the end credits in "The Story of Buddy the Elf."

Trivia: Elf: The Musical debuted on Broadway as its big Christmas show for 2010. It would return to Broadway in 2012 and is currently playing there again through January. It was on the West End during Christmas in 2015, 2022, and 2023. It's toured extensively during the holidays on both sides of the Atlantic and is a popular holiday attraction for regional theaters as well.

What I Don't Like: Fans of the movie will note many changes, from the narrator being Santa instead of the head elf who adopted Buddy to the elimination of Buddy wrecking havoc in the mail room at the Empire State Building, mistaking a short author Walter is trying to impress for an elf, and helping Michael with bullies in Central Park. I can understand losing the first two, but I wish they'd kept the last one in. We really don't get to see Buddy bond much with any of his family, including the father he's traveled so far to find. It also eliminates a few songs from the musical for time, notably Jovie's solo "Never Fall In Love" and Buddy's "Just Like Him," moves "The Story of Buddy the Elf" to the finale, and uses the opening number created for the 2012 Broadway revival "Happy All the Time."

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the original film or the musical, or just want to show your kids a unique modern animated special, you can do far worse than Buddy's frantic Christmas tale.

Home Media: Easily found on every format, including all over streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Musicals On TV - She Loves Me (1979)

The BBC/PBS, 1979

Starring Gemma Craven, Robin Ellis, David Kernan, and Diane Langdon

Directed by Michael Simpson

Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

We return to Europe for our next vintage Christmas tale. The 1940 romantic comedy The Shop Around the Corner starred James Steward and Margaret Sullivan as co-workers at a Hungarian perfume store who hated each other, but who were also each other's secret pen pal. This became the basis for the 1963 Broadway musical She Loves Me. The original production wasn't a huge hit, but it was well-remembered enough to be adapted into this version. Originally produced for the BBC in 1978, it eventually ran on PBS as part of their Great Performances series in December 1979. How well does it handle the story? Let's begin in front of Maraczeck's (Derek Smith) Parfumerie at Budapest, Hungary in 1937 and find out...

The Story: Head salesman Georg Nowack (Ellis) is excited about the pen pal letters he's been receiving from a mysterious woman who only signs herself "Dear Friend." He's certainly not interested in Amalia Balash (Craven), the young woman who turns up in the store and earns a job simply by passing off a difficult-to-sell cigar holder as a candy box. Seems Amalia also has a "Dear Friend" she's been writing to, one whose letters seem rather familiar. 

Amalia thinks she hates Georg, but she's more concerned when he's fired because Maraczeck thinks he's been sleeping with his wife. After Maraczeck nearly ends his life, he realizes how important his head clerk is...and Amalia begins to realize that maybe Mr. Nowack isn't such a bad fellow after all. 

The Song and Dance: Craven and Ellis are perfectly cast as the antagonistic salespeople who don't realize they're really in love in this sweet production. Diane Langdon and David Kernan also have a great time as flirtatious co-worker Illona Ritter and smooth-talking Steven Kodaly, whose seductive methods of getting ahead are what actually causes the trouble at the store in the first place. Bock and Harnick's best score along with Fiddler On the Roof is retained in almost its entirety and is stunningly performed. 

The Numbers: We open with the cast introducing themselves in "Good Morning, Good Day." That takes us right into "Thank You, Madam," as the salespeople do their jobs with the wealthy women who come in looking for perfume. Amalia convinces the lady to buy that box by telling her "No More Candy." "Three Letters" is a montage of Amalia and Georg reading off the letters they write each other over the next few months. Georg is excited to meet his pen pal "Tonight at Eight." Amalia admits to Ilona that "I Don't Know His Name." 

Sipos (Peter Sallis), an older clerk, gives "Perspectives" on the situation at the store. Kodaly seduces his "Ilona" while Sipos and delivery boy Arpad Lazlo (Nigel Rathbone) look on. Ilona, for her part, claims "I Resolve" to not fall for charming rascals like Kodaly. Amalia wonders "Will He Like Me" during the aborted date at the expensive restaurant, while the head waiter pushes for a "Romantic Atmosphere." She finally lets Georg have it with the "Tango Tragique" and laments that she's lost her "Dear Friend." Georg manages to cheer her up the next day with "Ice Cream" even as she wonders "Where's My Shoe?" 

Lazlo energetically begs Maraczeck to "Try Me" as a clerk while he's in the hospital. At the store, Ilona gushes about her new romance and the handsome scholars you can meet during "A Trip to the Library." The now-fired Kodaly claims it was "Grand Knowing You," but he's going to start his own store. Everyone is excited that it's "Twelve Days to Christmas," but Amalia and Georg are only interested in remembering him and the "Ice Cream."

Trivia: She Loves Me debuted on Broadway in 1963, with Barbara Cook as Amalia, David Massey as Georg, and Jack Cassidy as Kodaly. Critics loved the show - Cassidy won a supporting actor Tony - but audiences of the early 60's preferred their musicals bigger and bolder, and it ran for a little over a year and a half. The London production in 1964 didn't even make a year. It's done much better on both sides of the Atlantic in the past three decades, including hit Broadway revivals in 1993 and 2016. The 2016 revival was so popular, it became the first Broadway show to have a performance streamed live.

This isn't the first musical version of The Shop Around the Corner. The 1949 MGM musical  In the Good Old Summertime featured Van Johnson and Judy Garland in the leads and set the story in turn-of-the-century Chicago. It would be remade again as another non-musical romantic comedy, You've Got Mail, in 1998. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, there's a reason this took thirty years to catch on with the general public. It's not for people who prefer their musicals on the bigger and bolder side, or who aren't a fan of operetta. There's a lot of music in this movie, and most of it is even more old-fashioned than its setting. While the cramped pastel sets do allow for a feeling of intimacy, they also make the film look like the cheap BBC production it is. 

The Big Finale: I'm glad people are finally starting to succumb to the charms of this sweet and delicate romantic comedy. Perfect for cozy, quiet nights by the fire side during the holiday season. 

Home Media: Alas, the only place you can currently find this in the US is YouTube. At least the copy I have linked here is the full original production, complete with vintage 1978 PBS logos and original stage show stars Barbara Cook and Daniel Massey an interview near the end.

YouTube

The Lemon Drop Kid

Paramount, 1951

Starring Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, Jane Darwell, and Lloyd Nolan

Directed by Sidney Lanfield

Music by Jay Livingston; Lyrics by Ray Evans

We jump start Christmas this week with two adaptations of older films as holiday musicals, starting with this one based on a Damon Runyon story. This was originally filmed in 1934 with Lee Tracy as the lemon candy-loving racetrack tout, but it was heavily reworked for Bob Hope and his gags by former Looney Tunes animator Frank Tashlin, among others. How does this story of a con man who uses an older lady to make money, only to learn a holiday lesson about giving, look today? Let's begin in Florida with The Lemon Drop Kid (Hope) selling phony horse race tips and find out...

The Story: The Kid gets into real trouble when he sells a phony tip to the girlfriend of gangster Moose Moran (Fred Clark). The furious boss demands that he pay back the $10,000 she lost by Christmas Eve. He returns to New York, first trying to get money off his girlfriend Brainey Baxter (Maxwell), then from local crime boss Oxford Charlie (Nolan). Seeing all the sidewalk Santas earning money, he hits on the idea of posing as a Santa, too. He's arrested for panhandling, but that just gives him the idea of posing as a Santa earning money for charity.

Hearing how local older lady Nellie Thursday (Darwell) wasn't allowed to join a senior home because her husband is in jail, he creates the "Nellie Thursday Home for Old Dolls" at one of Moran's abandoned casinos. He and other local gangsters bring in older women as friends for Nellie and even dress as Santas themselves to earn money for her. The Kid originally intends to hand the money over to Moran, but starts to have second thoughts when Brainey leaves her job as a dancer for Charlie to look after the women and he realizes just how big this has gotten...and how important it is to the ladies.

The Song and Dance: This ended up being really cute. Hope is having a terrific time as the candy-sucking con man who thinks he's found a way to easy riches, before he realizes he's found people who really care about him instead. Maxwell also has fun as his sarcastic girlfriend who has been left sitting without a fur coat for too many years. All of the character actors playing gangsters are a riot, too, especially William Frawley as Gloomy Willie and Sit Melton as Little Louie, and Darwell is adorable and very funny as the kindly older woman whose dilemma gives the Kid his charity idea in the first place.

The Numbers: We get the chorus girls doing a dance routine at Charlie's club, claiming "You Obviously Came to Hear Us Sing." Brainey and the Kid gently remind the older women as they settle them down for the night that "It Doesn't Cost You Anything to Dream." The holiday standard here is "Silver Bells," and it gets a number worthy of it, too. Frawley begins it as an attempt to drum up customers. Brainey and the Kid encourage him to give it a softer sell...which leads into them and half of Times Square to tout the delights of the city at Christmastime.

Trivia: Frank Tashlin ended up directing part of the film along with writing part of it, but received no credit for directing. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, I did read that this has nothing whatsoever to do with the original short story or the first film besides the title and a con-man who likes lemon candy. It wasn't originally set at Christmas, either. You can definitely detect Tashlin's wacky Looney Tunes sensibilities in the increased emphasis on slapstick and wacky gags for one of Hope's movies, including near the end where he dresses as an old woman to find the older ladies Oxford Charlie has kidnapped and the missing money. 

The Big Finale: One of Hope's better comedies of the 1950's deserves far more love than it gets for the hilarious script and its two lovely songs. Definitely recommend checking it out this holiday season if you're a fan of Hope, are looking for an adorably hilarious comic caper, or ever wondered where "Silver Bells" came from.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - Moana 2

Disney, 2024

Voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, and Rose Matafeo

Directed by David Derrick Jr, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Jason Hand

Music by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear

Apparently, this one had a bit of a convoluted trip to the big screen. It began as a limited series for Disney Plus, but Disney was so impressed with the animation, they strung the episodes into a full-length movie in February. It's done wildly well against heavy Thanksgiving competition in theaters, but critics aren't as impressed. How does Moana's second adventure in the South Seas come off? Let's begin, not with Moana, but with demi-god Maui (Johnson) in trouble and find out...

The Story: Moana (Cravalho) returns to her beloved island home and her little sister Simesa (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) who adores her. She's about to receive the title of Wayfinder when there's a massive lighting storm. During the storm, she sees a vision of her ancestor Tataui Vasa (Gerald Ramsay) revealing why she's found no other people traveling the seas. Storm god Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea'i) pulled the island Motufetu that connected all islands into the sea, and the people of her island will go extinct if she can't find it. 

Deciding that this adventure is too big for just her, she corrals a crew that includes historian, artist, and Maui fan boy Moni (Chung), craftswoman Loto (Matafeo), and grumpy farmer Kele (David Fane), and sets off across the Pacific to find the island. They're first captured by the coconut pirates from the first film, then by a giant monster clam. They rescue Maui from the clam, and Moana is aided by goddess Matangi (Awhimi Fraser) and encouraged to think outside the box. When Maui insists he can raise the island and Moana should be the first to touch it, she'll need every ounce of intelligence and strength to get to that island...and remember that we're all connected to our past and to other people on their own journeys.

The Animation: This was made for streaming? No wonder Disney wanted to push this on the big screen. It's gorgeous. Every wave glows, every hair and blade of grass looks stunningly real. Everyone moves well, including the gods and other fantasy characters. Maui's famously funny moving tattoo has somewhat less off a role this time, but it's still animated well and has a few good moments.

The Song and Dance: That lovely animation really carries the day here, along with some decent performances and the glimpses of South Seas culture. Cravalho and Johnson have just as much fun this time around. They do especially well in the sequence after they're stranded on the island and Maui finds himself having to cheer up a despairing Moana. Of the newcomers, Matafeo and Fraser come off the best as the quirky boat designer who is constantly trying to take everything apart and the vengeful goddess who is willing to help Moana in order to get out of that clam.

The Numbers: We open with "We're Back" as the villagers await Moana's arrival. Moana describes the world "Beyond" for her little sister before the storm. She insists "What Could Be Better Than This?" to her squabbling crew as they begin their journey. Matangi encourages Moana to "Get Lost" in the center of the clam and not be afraid to make mistakes. "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?" insists Maui as he attempts to put a smile on Moana's face. "Beyond" is heard again when she finds the island and in the end credits.

What I Don't Like: At times, it's too obvious that this is six episodes of a streaming mini-series strung together. Most of the plot is even more meandering than the first film, and the incidents with the coconut pirates and the clam pop up with no rhyme or reason. Moana's crew doesn't really have all that much to do, either, nor do we get to know them that well. 

It feels like a far more advanced version of the "movies" Disney put direct-to-home-media in the 90's and early 2000's that were episodes of canceled series strung together. While I appreciate Disney using their first all-female songwriting team, I'm afraid the songs they came up with are only so-so, and not nearly as memorable as Lin-Manuel Miranda's music for the first film. 

The Big Finale: Even with the meandering plot and so-so music, it's still worth seeing on the big screen for the stunning animation and some terrific performances, particularly for fans of the first film or those with young girls who are looking for female-oriented action.

Home Media: No listings for the actual film yet, but the soundtrack will be released on physical media in January. 

CD soundtrack

The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort)

Comacico, 1967

Starring Catherine Denveuve, Francoise Dorleac, George Chakaris, and Gene Kelly

Directed by Jacques Demy

Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy

After the massive success of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Demy went back to the musical form for something far lighter. This time, he borrowed from classic American musical film, even using two of its stars, Kelly and Chakaris. Danielle Darrieux, who played Denveuve and Dorleac's mother, had also done several Hollywood musicals. How does this effervescent story of two sisters who fall in love during their seaside town's spring fair look today? Let's begin with the caravan of carnival barkers and performers as they dance and drive their way to Rochefort and find out...

The Story: Twins Delphine (Denveuve) and Solange (Dorleac) Garnier run a small ballet school in Rochefort, but what they really want is to try their wings as a dancer and composer in Paris. Delphine is also hoping to meet the man she's been dreaming about there...and so is Maxence (Jacques Perrin), a sailor just out of the Navy who wants to become an artist. Solange eventually falls for American dancer Andy Miller (Kelly) after she encounters him while picking up her little brother Booboo (Patrick Jeantet) from school. 

The girls agree to dance for carnival barkers Etienne (Chakaris) and Bill (Grover Dale) after their original dancers run off with sailors. They're hoping it will lead the guys to take them to Paris after the Carnival ends. Delphine is also hoping to avoid her obnoxious and egotistical ex-boyfriend Gulliaume Lancien (Jacques Riberoles), who is more interested in making money than being in love with her. There's also Simon Dame (Michel Piccoli), the owner of the music shop where Solange works...and whose description of the woman who loved him but couldn't stand his last named and walked away with his children. Madame Garnier's description off her ex sounds mighty familiar, too....

The Song and Dance: This is a gorgeous movie with an excellent performance by Catherine Denveuve, and stunning use of color...and that's about where the resemblance to Umbrellas ends. Unlike through-sung Umbrellas, this is a more traditional musical that thrives on its dance sequences. We see people dancing before we hear a word of dialogue or anyone singing. The dances are everywhere, among everyone from basketball players to lovers on the street. They inform everything that everyone does, and their energy really keeps the movie hopping. 

The lovely colors here are warm and airy pastels rather than the dark, saturated shades of Umbrellas, but they're just as pretty to look at. We get a good mix of French and American sensibilities, with the two male dancers and Kelly giving this the feel of an especially elegant MGM production of a decade before. Dorleac matches her real-life sister Denveuve as the slightly more practical sister, while Darrieux and Piccoli are fine aging lovers who don't realize their sweethearts have been in the same town all along and Perrin is a strapping sailor-turned-artist.

The Numbers: We open before a word has been sung with Etienne, Bill, and the other carnival performers doing two lively group dances on the pier done to the instrumental "The Ferry Bridge" and "Arrival of the Truckers Ballet" as they prepare to cross the Bay of Biscay. After they cross the Bay, we move to "The Ballet Lesson" and see the twins teaching their young charges. What they really want to do is move to Paris and pursue their passions as they explain what "A Pair of Twins" can do. 

We first meet Maxence at their mother's cafe as he explains why "You Must Believe In Spring" and he believes in his dream of the perfect girl. "From Delphine to Lancien" is Delphine explaining why she no longer wants to continue seeing Guilliame. Etienne and Bill tell their girls that "We Travel From City to City," but they're far from impressed. "Simon's Song" and "Yvonne's Song" gives us their not-so-different views on why she left him over his name. Delphine reprises "Must Believe In Spring" as she explains her own dream lover. "Andy In Love" is Kelly's number after he meets Solange and finds the pages she lost from her concerto. 

Bill manages to get the girls to dance for them with "Sailors, Friends, Lovers, and Husbands" as the girls explain they have none of the above. Having returned to the cafe, Maxence once again talks about his dream lover with his reprise of "Must Believe In Spring." "Solange's Song" talks about her desire to become a great composer. She and Delphine talk about what will happen when they go "From Hamburg to Rochefort" and reprise "Pair of Twins." Their mother sings of "Lola Lola."

"The Basketball Ballet" takes us to the carnival as we see a basketball team practice before the crowd. "Woman Cut to Pieces" and "The Meetings" are instrumental dance numbers for Delphine's dance troupe and a group of chorus dancers in the town square. "Andy's Song" gives him a dance routine and a chance to admit his feelings for Solange. "Kermesee" is Bill and Etienne's number as they leap around their motorcycle onstage. Dressed to kill in fire-engine red, the twins dance to a sultry "Summer Day Song," with Solange a bit more awkward than a delighted Delphine. When Bill and Etienne admit they love them, the girls say men "Always Never" will respect them and their feelings. "The Concert Ballet" brings Solange and Andy together in a pas de deux bathed in white, while the film ends with "The Fairground Departure Ballet" as people clean up and the townspeople rejoice in their new relationships and "The Truckers Departure Finale."

Trivia: Sadly, this was Dorleac's second-to-last film. She died in a car accident in Nice three months after the movie's release. 

Apparently, the English language version of this seen in the US wasn't a hit, which may be why it's even harder to find than the one for Umbrellas of Cherbourg today. The soundtrack and two video clips are all that remain of it.

What I Don't Like: The music is as charming and bubbly as the film, but while "A Pair of Twins" wound up being a hit, I don't think the songs are quite up to the haunting score from Umbrellas of Cherbourg. This is a more traditional musical, with numbers between spoken interludes. Those who are looking for something more experimental and less dance-heavy will want to go elsewhere or back to Umbrellas. And same caveat from Umbrellas applies here. If you don't speak French and don't want to use subtitles, you may have a hard time understanding what's going on. 

The Big Finale: That said, while I think Umbrellas is the slightly better film, both of these movies are definitely must-sees for their lovely scores, stunning use of color, delightful performances, and in the case of this one, fabulous dancing. Check these out this holiday season with your sweetheart or your favorite sister. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming, the former from the Criterion Collection.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)

American International Pictures, 1964

Starring Catherine Denueve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, and Marc Michel

Directed by Jacques Demy

Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy

This week, we take a holiday trip to France in the 1960's with our first two reviews. Umbrellas was Demy's third film and first of three musicals. He made copious use of the new Eastman color stock to turn the real-life French town of Cherbourg into a riot of color, light, and shadows, giving the story of two young lovers parted by fate and circumstance a melancholy fairy-tale feel. How does the story of a mechanic and the daughter of the owner of the title shop look now? Let's begin with bright umbrellas in the rain showing off those eye-catching primary colors and find out...

The Story: Genevieve Emery (Denueve) is passionately in love with Guy Foucher (Castelnuovo), a mechanic in Cherboug. Her mother Madame Emery (Vernon) believes they're too young to wed, as Genevieve is only 17. Guy lives with his aging Aunt Elise (Mirrelle Perrey) and her caretaker Madeline (Ellen Farner), who has a crush on him. Genevieve is devastated when Guy is called to the Algerian War. She writes him constantly, but after a while, his letters become fewer. Her mother finally convinces her to wed handsome young diamond merchant Roland Cassard (Michel) after they discover she's pregnant. 

Meanwhile, Guy returns home from the war and takes to drinking after he learns his beloved has married another and his aunt has died. Madeline is happy to be there for him and to take care of him. Even though their lives eventually take very different paths, when they encounter each other again one cold, snowy Christmas night, Guy and Genevieve can't help but wonder what would have had happened if things were different...

The Song and Dance: This is one of the most breathtaking musical films I've ever seen. Bless everyone who restored the Eastman color negatives, because they did a sensational job. The color almost literally pops off the screen, blasts of scarlet, shocking pink, olive green, and robin's egg blue. Genevieve and Guy wander through a fairy tale France where umbrellas come in every color of the rainbow, Christmas Eve is pure white, and even little shops and gas stations are a riot of primary hues. The performances are magnificent, too, despite everyone being dubbed. Denveuve is so radiant and heartbreaking, she became an international star after her performance here. Castelnuovo and Vernon nearly match her as her adored mechanic sweetheart with big ambitions and her mother who just wants to see her and the shop taken care of.

The Numbers: This is more-or-less an opera. Every note is sung-through, making it hard to separate songs the way you would for a regular musical. Two songs in particular became standards. "Recit De Cassard," Roland's solo when he's explaining his difficulty courting women to Genevieve and her mother, would be translated into English as "Watch What Happens." Guy and Genevieve's theme that runs throughout their numbers became the Oscar-nominated "I Will Wait for You" in English.

Trivia: The building that stood in for the umbrella shop still exists in Cherbourg today. It's currently marked with a plaque that commemorates the film.

When Roland Cassard tells Madame Emory he once loved a woman named Lola, he's referring to Demy's previous comedy Lola, where Michel played the same character. 

Madame Demy wasn't kidding when she referred to how young Genevieve was. Denveuve was only 19 during filming. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the English-language dub for this is extremely rare today. If you don't speak French or aren't willing to use subtitles, you may have a hard time with the lyrics. Second, this is not a feel-good musical. It's a bittersweet melodrama with a relatively unhappy ending. If you're not in the mood for a sad love story, this isn't for you, no matter how pretty it is to look at. 

The Big Finale: One of the most exquisitely gorgeous musical films ever created. Highly recommended for musical lovers, romantics, fans of the French New Wave, and those who either speak French, have a passing acquaintance with the language like me, or are willing to use subtitles. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming. The Blu-Ray is from the Criterion Collection, and even the DVD (which I've seen) has a marvelous transfer.

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Musicals On Streaming - Spellbound (2024)

Netflix, 2024

Voices of Rachel Ziegler, John Lithgow, Nicole Kidman, and Javier Bardem

Directed by Vicky Jenson

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Glen Slater

This one apparently has been a long time coming. It was announced in July 2017 as a theatrical project from new animation studio Skydance, to be released by Paramount. In 2020, Apple TV replaced Paramount and released their first movie, Luck. Three years later, Skydance ended its deal with Apple and switched to Netflix, where it was finally released last week. Menken knows something about animated fantasies. Does this reach the height of Disney's animated fairy tales, or should it be changed into a beast? Let's begin with Princess Ellian of Lumbria (Ziegler) in the air as she flies with her friends and find out...

The Story: But Ellian doesn't have time for friends, or much of anything besides ruling her kingdom. The year before, a strange dark magic transformed her parents into uncontrollable monsters who wreck havoc on the castle. Ellian and her parents' advisors Bolivar (Lithgow) and Nazara (Jenifer Lewis) have tried to keep the public from finding out, but they're becoming harder to control. Bolivar and Nazara think she should give up hope and be crowned queen, but Ellian is determined to find someone who will change them back.

She finally gets through to two powerful beings known as the Oracles, Sunny (Tituss Burgess) and Luno (Nathan Lane), only for her parents to scare them off. They do leave behind a powerful magic amulet called "the Fob" that can work their magic. The Captain of the Guard Genera Cardona (Olga Merediz) believes the monsters have stolen the princess and goes after them. They flee to the Dark Forest of Eternal Darkness to find the Oracles, with Bolivar switching his body with that of Ellian's pet rodent Fink (Dee Bradly Baker) on the way. 

The Oracles can't restore her parents, but they claim the Lake of Light can. As the quartet travel across quicksand-laden deserts and echoing forests, Ellian helps her parents rediscover their humanity and learns why they lost it to begin with. When they do arrive at the Lake, she finally snaps...and they're reminded that, whether together or separate, their daughter is the most important thing in their lives, and they love her even if they're no longer meant to be a couple.

The Animation: Gorgeous, as per the fantasy milieu. The Dark Forest of Eternal Darkness is not aptly named, as it's colorful and stunning, with its wild backgrounds. The colors glow here, and the details are incredible. Humans look a bit selfish, but everyone moves well, and the diverse cast is well-rendered. Perhaps because John Lasseter runs Skydance, this does feel a bit derivative of Disney, mainly in those elaborate backgrounds.

The Song and Dance: The animation and score are probably the best thing about this one. Menken crafted some decent music here, especially for Ziegler. She does fairly well as the upbeat teenager who just wants her parents back, despite some clunky dialogue. Lithgow also has some funny moments as the stuffy advisor who learns to cut loose and see silver linings when he switches bodies, and Burgess and Lane are hilarious as the Oracles. I like the idea of her parents rediscovering their humanity throughout the film, and despite it being awkwardly handled, I commend them for even attempting to deal with a mature subject like divorce in an animated film at all. 

The Numbers: Ellian explains that "My Parents are Monsters" as she shows the chaos they've created in the castle during the opening number. Bolivar and Nazara claim they'll return the kingdom to normal "Step By Step" and make Ellian queen. The Oracles explain "How to Break the Spell" before the king and queen burst in. Ellian laments that she just wants things to be "The Way They Were Before" when her parents were human and knew she was their daughter. 

She's told to "Look for the Light" by the Oracles when they arrive at the Dark Forest. Her parents start "Remembering" their past life as they follow the lights and she encourages them to recall their past life. Bolivar happily claims "I Could Get Used to This" when he finally befriends the finks who think he's one of them. After they say they won't change back at the Lake of Light, Ellian finally snaps, wonder "What About Me?" and why they never seem to notice her in their fights. They all reprise "What About Us?" and "The Way It Was Before" as Bolivar helps save them and they realize how important their daughter is. Ellian reprises "My Parents are Monsters" in the end, and we get "The Way It Was Before" over the end credits.

What I Don't Like: While I appreciate the discussion of a topic like divorce here, it could have been integrated better. It comes out of nowhere in the second half and doesn't work well with the fantasy elements. There's also subjects like divorce and mixed marriages being extremely controversial. Some parents may not appreciate a movie where it's basically shoved down their throats. The music isn't bad but isn't especially memorable, either. The whole thing just seems like it's been thrown together from spare parts of better Disney and Dreamworks movies and is cliched to high heck other than the divorce talk. 

The Big Finale: Not the greatest thing ever, but not nearly as bad as some critics claim, either. If their parents aren't offended by some of the more mature elements, elementary-school-age girls like my niece might be the best audience for this. They'll enjoy the fairy tale story and be able to ignore the awkward message and clunky dialogue.

Home Media: Netflix exclusive at the moment.

Netflix

Happy Thanksgiving! - Alice's Restaurant

United Artists, 1969

Starring Arlo Guthrie, Pat Quinn, James Broderick, and Michael McClanathan

Directed by Arthur Penn

Music and Lyrics by various

Arlo Guthrie's epic folk song "Alice's Restaurant" debuted on his album of the same title in 1967 and was a hit, making it into the top 20 that year. It isn't Thanksgiving for many people without the twenty-minute folk song playing somewhere in the background before dinner. Penn knew the story more intimately than most, being a resident of Stockbridge, Massachusetts where the incidents occurred and having heard the full story from the real Ray Brock. How does the tale of how Arlo's attempt to help the owner of the title establishment on Thanksgiving turn into disaster look today? Let's begin at a college in Montana and find out...

The Story: Arlo went to college to avoid the draft, but his long hair and Bohemian lifestyle doesn't go over well in rural Montana. After run-ins with the local police and students who make fun of him for his looks, he finally hitchhikes to the East Coast. His first stop is New York, where he visits with his sick father Woody Guthrie (Joseph Boley) and performs in a few folk venues.

He finally heads north to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where his friends Ray Brock (James Broderick) and Alice (Pat Quinn) live with assorted friends and hangers-on in an abandoned church. Alice has started a restaurant, which is popularized by a jingle Arlo writes for her. Alice is fed up with Ray's treatment of her and first has an affair with his friend Shelly (McClanathan), then follows Arlo and his friend Roger (Geoff Outlaw) to New York. Ray comes to bring her home, and she invites the guys along for Thanksgiving dinner.

The dinner itself goes just fine. Things go sideways when Alice asks Roger and Arlo to take garbage from the church to the town dump. The town dump is closed for Thanksgiving, so they drop it off on a cliff with other garbage. That gets them a visit from Officer Obie (the real officer, William Obanheim), who thinks they dumped a lot more than junk. Alice bails them out, and the blind judge (the real blind judge, James Hannon) can't see the evidence at their trial and gives the boys a fine and an order to find another place for the junk instead. 

Arlo does briefly end up drafted for Vietnam, but he doesn't make it due to the littering conviction. He's free to return to the church with his new girlfriend Mari-Chan (Tina Chen), where things are starting to go haywire. Shelly's high as a kite and has been keeping heroin in the church. Ray's furious and beats him, but he runs off and dies in a motorcycle accident. Woody passes on as well, leaving Arlo regretful that he didn't get to say good-bye. Even Alice and Ray's wedding is full of regrets, as Alice wonders what she's gotten herself into.

The Song and Dance: You can't get much more "you were there" than a story that more-or-less happened as it's shown onscreen. Broderick and Quinn are probably the best of the cast as the sometimes-dynamic, sometimes-violent owner of the church and his strong-willed wife. There's some gorgeous shots of New York, Montana, and the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts as they looked in the late 60's, too, including that lovely old church. Penn's straightforward approach works well with the wild, frequently meandering plot. 

The Numbers:  Our first numbers are instrumental classical piano pieces, performed by a class at the Montana college. Arlo's teacher is offended by him playing a folk number instead of what the rest of the students are doing. He's much happier playing a jam session on guitar and kazoo with Roger, until the landlady and police turn up to ask questions. He plays "Car-Car Song" and "Pastures of Plenty" with none other than folk legend Pete Seeger in his father's hospital bedroom. Ray really gets into the traditional folk song "Boiling Cabbage Down" with everyone at the church, and they sing "Amazing Grace" after Thanksgiving dinner. "Alice's Restaurant"turns up on the radio as a jingle. Tigger Outlaw sings the Joni Mitchell song "Songs to Aging Children" as the members of the church lay Shelly in the ground.

Trivia:  Though the film is based on a real incident, it plays very fast and loose with facts. The subplot with the Shelly/Ray/Alice triangle was fictional, as was Mari-Chan (Guthrie was actually dating an English girl at the time) and him being forced out of the Montana school (he was still attending it then). 

What I Don't Like: The movie is too meandering for its own good. It bounces from incident to incident with no real rhyme or reason. Quite frankly...the story behind the song isn't nearly as compelling as the song continues to be. Gurthrie's sweet-faced and endearing, but also not much of an actor (especially compared to the magnetic Broderick) and comes across as too goofy or annoying at times. The treatment of Guthrie because of his long hair and lifestyle and the discussions of the Vietnam War and the then-current generation have dated this movie very badly. The slightly bitter worldview doesn't help, either. 

The Big Finale: Recommended mainly if you're a huge fan of Guthrie or the original song, or are interested in movies from the late 60's and early 70's that go into some of the same themes. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and Blu-Ray

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Musical Documentaries - The Last Waltz

United Artists, 1978

Starring The Band, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, and Van Morrison

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Thanksgiving week with two very different rock movies from the 60's and 70's that were filmed or set during the holiday. The Last Waltz was supposedly going to be the final concert of Canadian-American rock group The Band in 1976, who had been touring for sixteen years. They invited many guest stars who were huge in the world of rock or folk music and even had Scorsese film the event. Scorsese took a different approach to making a concert documentary, starting with doing it on less grainy 35 millimeter stock instead of cheaper 16 millimeter. What else makes this stand out? Let's begin with a card telling us that this film should be played loud and see...

 

The Story: We get to know the members of the Band - drummer Levon Helm, saxophonist and pianist Richard Manuel, bassist Rick Danko, and guitarist Robbie Robertson - and their long career on the road and the artists who influenced them via a series of interviews. There's also segments in the studio where we hear them recording some of their best-known hits. They tell him how they got together, wild memories of their time touring, and why they want to make changes.

The Song and Dance: Wow. How's this for a concert line-up? In addition to the Band, special guests include Mitchell, Neil Young, Waters, Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield of the Butterfield Blues Band, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, and Dr. John, with Ringo Starr of The Beatles and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones visible in the finale. Each and every one gets a chance to shine or a really good song or story, including the Band themselves. The movie even looks spectacular. It being shot on good 35 millimeter stock assures that every last drop of sweat and finger flying over guitar strings look as clear as the day it debuted. Scorsese's nervous energy even brings out the most in the interviews, making Robinson sound hilarious and bringing out some great stories.

The Numbers: We open with the Band's song that closed the actual concert, the rockin' "Don't Do It." The studio version of the instrumental title song is heard over the credits while ghostly dancers do an actual waltz. After the first interview segment, the Band returns to give us blistering versions of "Up In Cripple Creek" and "The Shape I'm In." Ronnie Hawkins comes out for the Bo Diddley favorite "Who Do You Love?" The Band follow this with their own "It Makes No Difference." 

After a reading of the introduction to The Canterbury Tales by Micheal McClure, Dr. John comes on for "Such a Night." Neil Young gets the ballad "Helpless." He's not quite helpless, as we see a woman in silhouette providing the background singing. The lady turns out to be folk songstress Joni Mitchell, keeping out of sight to not take away from her own performance later. The Band returns with "Stage Fright" and a studio recording of "The Weight," the latter with lively black singing group The Staples Singers. We return to the stage for their own "The Night They Drove Dixie Down," best known as one of Joan Baez' biggest hits. 

Neil Diamond is on next, but though he has one of his better songs, "Dry Your Eyes," his leisure suit and soft-rock sound seems out-of-place with the folk and hard rock tunes and less formal musicians around him. Mitchell comes across much better with her own "Coyote." Paul Butterfield picks up the pace with his rollicking "Mystery Train." They almost didn't film Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy." It's a fluke that one cameraman happened to catch it...and thank goodness he did! They would have missed one of the best performances in the entire show, with Waters really throwing himself into the blues number. Eric Clapton is nearly as into his performance of the early blues hit "Further On Up the Road."

Beautiful country-rock star Emmylou Harris joins the band for a studio version of the ballad "Evangeline" that's as pretty as she is. The Band takes over with their "Ophelia" and "Chest Fever." Van Morrison's dynamic "Caravan" is definitely a highlight of the second half. After poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti recites a "Loud Prayer," we finally get Bob Dylan, who doesn't disappoint with intense performances of "Forever Young" and "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" that were worth all the last-minute haggling. The last concert number, Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," brings back all the singers from the actual concert, with Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood visible in the background. The movie ends with a reprise of the title song, this time done by the band in the studio.

What I Don't Like: First of all, the other band members were right that the film might focus on Robertson just a wee bit too much. He was the one who was friends with Scorsese, but I would have liked to have heard more from the others, too. Second, I'm glad they didn't film the rest of the poets whose recitations apparently took up a good chunk of the original concert. The two they do include really slow things down. And naturally, if you're not a fan of any of the artists seen here or the Band's brand of folk-hard rock, you won't be into this.

The Big Finale: One of the best concerts ever filmed, and one of the best concert movies ever created. Fans of the Band, any of the artists in question, or of folk, country, or hard rock in general owe it to themselves to see this one.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials.

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Tubi