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.

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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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Family Fun Saturday - Wicked Part One

Universal Pictures, 2024

Starring Cynthia Ervio, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, and Michelle Yeoh

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

I've waited a very long time for this one to come out. It was originally announced in 2012, but kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. Universal said it would be coming out in 2021, but the pandemic ended those plans. It was supposed to come out last year, but then the strike happened. It's been one of the most popular shows on Broadway since its debut in 2003, especially among young women and Wizard of Oz fans. Was the story of how the Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch met in college and became close friends worth the long wait, or should it be put in a cage? Let's begin at the ending, with all of Oz celebrating the Witch's death and the arrival of Glinda (Grande) in her bubble, and find out...

The Story: Glinda relates to the people how she met Elphaba (Ervio), future Witch of the West, when she accompanied her disabled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) to Shiz University. Head sorcery teacher Madame Morrible (Yeoh) is impressed when an angry Elphaba shows her considerable talent for magic and insists she studies with her at the school. Glinda, then known as Galinda Upland, is not happy when Elphaba ends up sharing her private suite. Galinda is a perky, rather shallow blonde, and Elphaba is sharp and intelligent despite the green skin that everyone around her fears.

Angry that she wasn't chosen by Madame Morrible to be in her class, Galinda and her friends make fun of Elphaba. Elphaba feels more comfortable in class, especially goat professor Dr. Dillamond's (Peter Dinkalage) history course. It seems animals are being stripped of their speech and their civil rights. Elphaba is certain that the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), whom she admires, will take care of everything. The student body is more interested in the arrival of Fiyero Tigelarr (Bailey), a handsome prince whom Galinda fawns over. He's more interested in Elphaba, even helping her rescue a lion cub who was kept in a cage when Dr. Dillamond was forced out of class. She finally bonds with Galinda after she encourages Boq (Ethan Slater), one of her admirers, to ask Nessarose out. 

Elphaba is elated when Morrible gives her an invitation to see the Wizard. Now she can finally become his apprentice and help the animals of Oz. She even brings Galinda, who has now renamed herself Glinda in honor of Dillamond, They enjoy their day in the Emerald City, but Elphaba doesn't need a little dog to pull back the curtain and reveal the Wizard for the fraud he is. He wants her to read the Grimmerie, a book of magic spells. She's so horrified by what one of those spells does to a monkey guard, she flees. Glinda wants her to stay, but she has no desire to have anything to do with the Wizard now. She wants something more, a way to truly fly and help those she loves.

The Song and Dance: This was absolutely worth the wait. Ervio and Grande are delightful as the two witches, with Ervio appropriately sharp and defensive, Grande adorable and hilarious. Yeoh, Bailey, and Goldblum more than match them as the conniving teacher, the prince who learns there's more to life than being brainless, and the huckster who calls himself wizard. The mix of real sets and CGI allow for the characters to interact with their world more than normal for a big fantasy blockbuster. 

Shiz and the Emerald City are drop-dead gorgeous. Libraries have revolving circular shelves, gardens are a Technicolor wonder of green and pink and lavender, and the Emerald City glows with every shade of green possible. The costumes are even more amazing, with Glinda's pink and blue-striped suits and ruffly flower nightgowns, Elphaba's high-necked black gown and the infamous peaked hats, and all those blue uniforms on the Shiz students and the 20's-inspired low-waisted gowns at the Ozdust Ballroom.

The Numbers: We do indeed open with "No One Mourns the Wicked" as the citizens of Oz celebrates the Wicked Witch's demise and Glinda tells the story of how Elphaba came to be and her troubled childhood. "Dear Old Shiz" introduces Galinda and the students as they prepare for their first semester. Thrilled with the chance to work with her idol. Elphaba tells the frogs in the gardens what she'll do for "The Wizard and I." She and Galinda wonder "What Is This Feeling?" in a montage that shows the duo's antagonism after they end up having to share a room. "Something Bad" is moved to a room outside of the school where Dr. Dillmond and other animal teachers meet to discuss how animals are losing speech and their rights.

Fiyero encourages the students to go "Dancing Through Life," first in a huge, extensive dance number with students leaping all over that huge library, then at the Ozdust Ballroom. It ends with Elphaba and Galinda finally bonding over their own angry dance. Galinda claims she can make Elphaba "Popular," but her green friend is skeptical, to say the least. She even gets the cutest dance as she flits through the halls in her frilly rose-pink nightclothes. Elphaba would be the first to admit her feelings for Fiyero after he helps her rescue the lion cub, but she thinks "I'm Not That Girl" and he's in love with Galinda. 

Elphaba and the newly rechristened Glinda are delighted to spend "One Short Day" in Emerald City. They even get to see a show featuring two sorceresses who should be familiar to fans of the original Broadway cast album. The Wizard claims he's "A Sentimental Man" who thinks of the people of Oz as his children. Elphaba knows better than to accept his phony pathos. She'd rather be "Defying Gravity" and leaping out a window as she flies her famous broom.

Trivia: Wicked opened on Broadway in December 2003 and was an instant sensation, especially among young women who related to the themes of friendship and sacrifice. It continues to run at the Gershwin Theater to this day. The West End version opened in 2006 and also continues at the Victoria Apollo Theater.

Look for original Broadway stars Kristin Chenowith and Idina Menzel as the "Wise Ones" during the "One Short Day" stage production number.  

What I Don't Like: Some of the story lines, notably the Boq-Nessarose side plot and what happens with Dr. Dillamond, do get lost amid the witches' budding relationship and the many musical numbers. This was apparently even more of a problem in the plot-heavy Broadway show. No wonder Chu ended up separating this into two parts. Neither Slater and Bode nor Galinda's two buddies who are always by her side (Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James) have much to do. And forget it for those of you who aren't fans of fantasy, musicals, or The Wizard of Oz. This is very much a fantasy world where people burst into song. 

The Big Finale: Good things come to those who wait. This was an absolute delight from start to finish. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you have pre-teen and young teen girls who would enjoy the music and morals about friendship and sisterhood. 

Home Media: This will be on all major formats in late March; it's on pre-order now, and the soundtrack is available. 

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Cult Flops - That Lady In Ermine

20th Century Fox, 1948

Starring Betty Grable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Caesar Romero, and Walter Abel

Directed by Ernst Lubisch and Otto Preminger

Music by Friedrich Hollaender; Lyrics by Leo Robin

That Lady In Ermine had an even more troubled production than The Emperor Waltz. The original director was frothy comedy specialist Ernst Lubisch, but he had a fatal heart attack eight days into filming. His replacement couldn't have been more different. Otto Preminger was known for his mysteries and dark dramas. He'd done one previous musical, the nostalgic Centennial Summer. That the film was a huge flop in 1946 didn't stop them from recruiting Preminger to handle an even fluffier story. How does the change in director affect the tale of a countess who is encouraged by her notorious ancestor to stop a Hungarian count from harming her husband? Let's begin at the wedding of Countess Angelina (Grable) and Baron Mario (Romero) in Northern Italy in 1861 and find out...

The Story: The two were barely married for a few hours when the castle was attacked by the Hungarian Army, led by dashing Colonel Teglash (Fairbanks Jr). Mario flees, leaving his wife to deal with the invaders. Her ancestors in their paintings call on Francesca (Grable), depicted as wearing nothing but an ermine cloak, to save them as she did 300 years before. Angelica does think he's handsome, but she's also devoted to her new husband. Even the story of how Francesca supposedly killed the Duke (Fairbanks Jr.) who lead another invading army against the castle doesn't scare him away. 

Mario returns to the castle disguised as a gypsy. Teglash is ready to hire him when he hears his excellent violin playing, until he realizes he's Angelica's husband. He asks for her to dine with him if he spares Mario's life, but she doesn't show. It's up to Francesca to send a dream that's romantic enough for Teglash to retreat...and Angelica to understand whom she truly cares about.

The Song and Dance: This has an even worse reputation than Emperor Waltz...but honestly, it's not that bad. Fairbanks Jr. and Romero have a wonderful time chewing every bit of the lavish scenery, with Fairbanks especially good as the officer who falls for both Angelica and her mysterious ancestress. The Technicolor is exquisite, a Dresden candy box showing off a wide range of glowing pastels. Grable flounces around in amazing hoop-skirted gowns and sleek fur coats trimmed with acres of ruffles, sequins, bows, and tulle, while the men show off their gold braided Italian and Hungarian uniforms and colorful gypsy rags. 

The Numbers: We open with "The Jester's Song" as Major Horvath's (Abel) ancestor Benvenuto (Abel) reports the invasion to the other ancestors in the paintings. They all join Francesca as she sings "Ooh, What I'll Do (To That Wild Hungarian)" and reveals her plans for repelling Teglash and his army. One member of a chamber orchestra plays a short, sad instrumental violin song for Teglash after they've taken the castle, but his mind is on the woman in the painting. Francesca reminds her ancestress in a dream that it doesn't matter who a man is or what he looks like if "The Melody Is Right." 

The orchestra reprises "Ooh, What I'll Do" during Tegash's lengthy dream sequence near the end of the movie. Francesca tells him he can do anything he wants, including do a vigorous waltz with her and boom "This Is the Moment" in a very dubbed baritone. Francesca's rendition is a little less bombastic and easier to take. Tegash's second dream is shorter and a lot less pleasant. He and Francesca dance again, only for her to literally stab him in the back. The two of them and the ancestors end the movie with another wild dance to "Ooh, What I'll Do."

Trivia: This began life as a German operetta in 1919, which later inspired an American stage show, Lady In Ermine. It was filmed twice before, as a silent under the original title in 1927 and as the racy musical Bride of the Regiment in 1930. Both films are now mostly lost other than a very short fragment of Bride. 

"This Is the Moment" was nominated for Best Song in 1948, but lost to "Buttons and Bows." 

What I Don't Like: Preminger's heavy-handed bombast is all wrong for a frothy romantic comedy. Everyone is always shouting and stomping when they should be laughing and waltzing. All the screaming makes a hash out of the big "This Is the Moment" dream sequence. It takes the spice out of what should be a racy romp. Grable is especially stiff and noisy, and not really believable as the reluctant countess or her matchmaking ancestress. No wonder she later called this her least-favorite vehicle. Oscar nomination aside, the music isn't really all that memorable, either. Preminger would do far better with two dark operas in the 50's, Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess. 

The Big Finale: While not nearly as bad as most people claim, it has its fair share of problems. It's probably best for major fans of Grable or the two leading men, or those who love historical costume flicks and might be interested in the gorgeous production.

Home Media: The 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives DVD is hard to find, but it is available on streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - The Emperor Waltz

Paramount, 1948

Starring Bing Crosby, Joan Fontaine, Roland Culver, and Richard Haydn

Directed by Billy Wilder

Music and Lyrics by various

Our first two movies this week have a lot in common. They're historical romances from 1948 featuring major stars and directors that went through troubled productions and received mixed reviews on release. This one started with Wilder's desire to do a light-hearted musical set in his native Austria after having seen concentration camps in Europe. Crosby was Paramount's go-to musical star at the time, but not only did he have problems with Wilder, but with the fluffy script as well. How did all this effect the tale of a traveling salesman in turn-of-the-20th-century Austria who falls for a countess? Let's begin at a grand ball, where gramophone salesman Virgil Smith (Crosby) dances with the chilly Countess Joanna Franziska (Fontaine) and find out...

The Story: Smith and his white fox terrier Buttons are determined to sell their gramophone to none other than the Emperor Franz Joseph (Haydn), hoping to promote it in Austria. Meanwhile, the Countess Joanna and her father Baron Holenia (Ronald Culver) have come to mate Joanna's pure-blood poodle Schenherezade with the Emperor's poodle. Countess and poodle get into several arguments with Smith and his terrier, the last of which leaves Schenherezade sick. The doctor (Sig Ruman) recommends that she face the dog that frightened her. Joanna insists on Virgil staying in Austria so this can happen. 

Not only do the dogs fall in love, but so do their owners. Joanna is ready to run away with Virgil, until the Emperor reminds Virgil that he's a commoner and she's a noblewoman who is not accustomed to simple living. He buys his gramophone if he'll leave Joanna. Virgil lies and says he never loved her...but it becomes obvious a few months later that their dogs did. When Schenherezade has her puppies, Virgil and Buttons come around one last time to rescue them and prove to the entire Austrian court that, if you're truly in love, nothing else matters. 

The Song and Dance: Gorgeous mountain scenery (filmed in Canada), the period-accurate costumes depicting Austria during the Edwardian period, and some absolutely scrumptious Technicolor add life to this bittersweet confection. The film isn't as sugary as the fluffy story looks at first, especially in the second half, when the class distinctions come to the fore. Haydn makes an especially good Emperor, stubborn, but not uncaring. In fact, I'm actually glad the movie didn't end up painting him as the villain. All he wanted was for his dog to give him some pups. Crosby proves himself more than worthy of the drama in the second half, particularly when he lets the court have it for almost hurting innocent puppies in the name of class purity near the end. 

The Numbers: Our first number is the Johann Strauss title song, given English lyrics by Johnny Burke and danced by the royal court at the ball. It's also the song he tries to play on his gramophone before the horrified soldiers at the court mistake it for a bomb. After the dogs attack each other, he returns to the "Friendly Mountains" to yodel along and watch the local peasants dance. His attempt to encourage Joseph to "Get Yourself a Phonograph" in the woods only ends with him in trouble and Joseph missing a stag he very much wanted to hunt. His first attempt to woo Joanna is his older hit "I Kiss Your Hand, Madame." The second, the German song "The Kiss In Your Eyes," works much better, for humans and canines. It even works for the Countess' chauffeur and two female servants in the inn, who happily dance together. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention that fluffy story? The whole thing with the dogs is silly to the point of being annoying, until it takes a left turn into melodrama near the end with what they try to do to Scheherezade's puppies. No matter how much he wanted to get away from darker stories, musicals aren't really Billy Wilder's turf. He wasn't satisfied with the results, and yeah, I can understand why. The social commentary mixes awkwardly with the overly sweet story. Not only is Fontaine stiff as a board and obviously not happy to be here, she's more realistic clashing with the aloof Crosby in the first half than falling for him in the second. 

The Big Finale: This alternately pretty and bitter class war romance is likely best for huge fans of Crosby, Fontaine, or Wilder. 

Home Media: Not on legitimate streaming at press time, but easily found on DVD and Blu-Ray, the latter from Kino Lorber

DVD - The Bing Crosby Collection: The Emperor Waltz/A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court

Blu-Ray

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and the Koala

Yoram Gross Films, 1985

Voices of Robyn Moore and Keith Scott

Directed by Yoram Gross

Music and Lyrics by Gairden Cooke

The Dot series was wildly popular in its native Australia, enough to continue for eight films. This is the third of those 8 films, coming after Dot and the Bunny. It also varies the formula a bit, trading in Dot's interaction with real-life animals for something closer to what you'd find in an animated series from this era, a town of talking animals. How does Dot get involved with the story of how one all-animal town created a dam for more power...and learned a lesson when the animals in the bush whose homes were flooded out fight back? Let's begin in that sleepy all-farm-animal town and find out...

The Story: Mayor Percy Pig is certain that their big new dam will thrust their little town into the 20th Century and bring many jobs to the community. What he doesn't consider is that their dam would flood the Outback and destroy the homes of the animals who live there. Bruce the Koala (Scott) encourages all the residents to fight back, but it just ends with them building the dam anyway. They finally bring in Dot (Moore) to help them stop the opening. She's the one who shows Percy, rat detective Sherlock Bones, and his none-too-bright cat sidekick Watson that small towns have their own charms, and there can be progress without destroying the environment.

The Animation: This one takes a different route with the style of animation. The animals look far smaller and less realistic than they do in previous films, with shorter, less detailed bodies and larger, goofier eyes. There's also far less live-action footage, and the animals barely interact with it at all. Dot looks more-or-less the same, but then she also has a lot less to do. 

The Song and Dance: Unique story almost comes off as a lighter version of Animal Farm, with the two sides warring over what one sees as "progress" and the other only knows will destroy their way of life. Some of the action sequences, especially in the beginning where they're all fighting, are kind of fun. Scott has fun playing most of the voices, including the stuffy pig mayor who thinks that power is the best way to shove his little town in the 20th Century and feisty little Bruce the Koala.

The Numbers: The local children's "Dam the Power!" chant leads everyone in town to chant about how the dam will mean "progress." The animals in the outback aren't as amused. They go to tell the animals in town what they think of their dam and "Stop It From Happening." Dot and Bruce show how a "Small Town" is just as important in the finale, which continues into the credits.

What I Don't Like: I liked it much better when Dot was helping animals in the real Australian outback. First of all, she doesn't turn up until 40 minutes into a movie that runs a little over an hour, and when she does appear, she doesn't have all that much to do. Second, the animation is grotesque, weird, and a little too goofy, lacking the realistic details of the previous three. The story veers between Sherlock Bones and Watson's dumb gags and the darker story of how so-called "progress" isn't always the answer with no rhyme or reason, and the environmental message is forced and cliched.

The Big Finale: With weirdly goofy animation and a story that veers between cliched, dark, and too silly, I'm going to say this is only for the most ardent fans of the Dot series or Australian animation. All others are fine with the previous three films or the ones that came afterwards.

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that at press time this is one of the harder-to-find Dot films. To my knowledge, the only place it can currently be found in North America is YouTube.

YouTube

A Salute to Mitzi Gaynor - South Pacific

Magna/20th Century Fox, 1958

Starring Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, and Ray Walston

Directed by Joshua Logan 

Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Gaynor wasn't the first choice to play Nurse Nellie Forbush this huge adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Rodgers and Hammerstein stage show. They wanted original Broadway stars Enzio Pinza and Mary Martin, but Pinza died in 1957, and Martin wouldn't appear without him. Doris Day passed, and Elizabeth Taylor failed to impress Rodgers and Hammerstein. Gaynor tested twice for them before they finally hired her. Italian actor Brazzi was mainly known for dramas like Three Coins In the Fountain, while Walston did have stage experience (and played the role in London). How well do they pull off the story of a nurse and officer who learn a lesson in prejudice on a South Seas island during World War II when they fall for a French planter and a local girl? Let's begin with the arrival of Lieutenant Joseph Cable (Kerr) to the island and find out...

The Story: Cable is there to persuade local French plantation owner Emile DeBeque (Brazzi) to help him with a reconnaissance mission in Japan, but he refuses. He has children and is beginning a romance with Navy nurse Nellie Forbush (Gaynor) and doesn't want to get involved. Seabee Luther Bills (Walson) convinces Cable to visit the nearby island Bali Hai, where he falls for local girl Liat (France Nuyen), to the delight of her mother, Bloody Mary (Juanita Hill). 

Both romances hit a snag when Nellie breaks up with DeBeque after she learns his children were born to a Polynesian woman and Cable insists he can't bring Liat home to Philadelphia. It's enough to finally convince LeBeque to take that mission. Nellie's horrified and worried when they fly out to fishermen on a Japanese-controlled island DeBeque knows, then come under heavy fire. Only one man makes it back to the South Pacific, but they're happy when their loved ones discover that just because you're "carefully taught" to shun different races doesn't mean you can't overcome those feelings. 

The Song and Dance: If anything, the message of tolerance and prejudice is even more important today then it was during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in 1958. No wonder this has seen successful revivals in the last ten-fifteen years or so. Gaynor is a sweet and bubbly Nellie. Her "Honey Bun" is especially delightful, and she works well with Walston. Kerr and Nuyen look gorgeous together and make their doomed relationship fairly believable. Hill's Bloody Mary is both hilarious in the opening with the Seebees and heartbreaking later after she realizes that no matter how much she wants him to, this man is not going to marry her daughter. Check out the historically-accurate costumes, including the hilarious showgirl outfits at the Thanksgiving show that were obviously cobbled together from whatever the sailors and nurses could get their hands on.

The Numbers: We open with the Seabees singing an ode to their favorite local lady "Bloody Mary." "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" is their complaint that they don't have enough women in the South Seas. After Luther points out "Bali Hai," Bloody Mary sings to cable about the beauty and lure of the island. At her date with Emile, Nellie claims that she's "A Cockeyed Optimist." "Twin Soliloquies" gives them their thoughts and worries that they aren't good enough for each other, which goes into Emile's smash hit ballad "Some Enchanted Evening." He introduces his children with their lilting number "Dites Moi." Nellie tells the other nurses "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair," but finally admits "I'm In Love With a Wonderful Guy" to Luther. 

Cable sings to Liat that she's "Younger Than Springtime" in the show's other hit ballad. Mary and Liat give Cable "Happy Talk" and try to talk him into staying with them. "Honey Bun" is the raucous number at the Thanksgiving show. Nellie starts off singing it in a sailor's uniform to Luther dressed as a woman in a coconut bra and hula skirt. Thank goodness for the sailors that real women show up for the chorus, all of them dressed in costumes cobbled together from bits and pieces of whatever fabric and materials could be found. 

Nellie reminds Cable of "My Girl Back Home" when he admits he's in love with Liat. He knows why neither of them can go further with their relationships. It's not ingrained. "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" to hate others who are different than you. Emilio laments that "This Nearly Was Mine" before he leaves for that fateful mission. The children sing "Dites Moi" again when he returns...with a little help from their new caretaker...

Trivia: Won an Oscar for Best Sound in 1959.

South Pacific opened on Broadway in 1949 and was an instant blockbuster, continuing until 1954 and becoming the second-longest-running Broadway show at that time. It became the first show to win all four major acting prizes at the Tonys (and remains the only one to do so), along with picking up the Pulitzer for drama. The West End mounting in 1951 also saw a respectable run. It's been revived twice in London and on Broadway twice in 1967 (with Florence Henderson as Nellie) and 2008 (with Kelli O'Hara in the role). The 2008 revival was also a hit that ran two years and won Tonys for Best Musical Revival and for its Emile, Paulo Szot. 

"My Girl Back Home" was cut from the original show, but reinstated for the film. Most stage versions continue to use it, usually as a solo for Cable. 

For some reason, the first and second scenes are switched around from the stage version. On stage, the show begins with Emile, Nellie, and his children before introducing us to Bloody Mary and the Seabees. (Admittedly, a few stage productions have done this as well.) 

This was originally released at almost 3 hours. The roadshow version was considered lost until a few years ago. Though it's not online, it can be found on DVD.

Brazzi was dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi, who would play Emilie opposite Florence Henderson in 1967. Kerr was dubbed by Bill Lee. Muriel Smith dubbed Juanita Hill, even though she sings just fine on the 1949 original cast albums. 

What I Don't Like: Alas, the show's forward-thinking stance on racism is seen primarily though the lens of its white characters. Though this is apparently handled a bit better here than in the original show (at least Liat has some lines), the only natives we really see are the broadly comic and occasionally annoying Bloody Mary and Liat, who is more-or-less forced into bed with Cable. This is also stiff as a board at times. Despite the nice scenery, other than Cable's romantic swim with Liat after "Younger Than Springtime," people barely move or do much of anything. The only dance routines are "Honey Bun" and a bit of the Seabees goofing off during "Bloody Mary." It's more like a play with especially beautiful backdrops than a movie.

Let's talk about those infamous color filters. Apparently, no one wanted them, including Richard Rodgers and director Joshua Logan, but they ended up using them anyway. The blue towards the end during some night scenes isn't that bad, but the yellows and reds used elsewhere look weird and unrealistic rather than romantic and really take you out of the scene. I have no idea why the audience howling at "Honey Bun" was blue while the performers were left in realistic colors, either. It looks silly rather than dreamy.

The Big Finale: Mixed feelings on this one. Decent performances, gorgeous songs, and the important message don't always overcome the weird production and stagey stiffness. This isn't my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein show (the stage casts are better), but it's still recommended for fans of theirs and the cast and lovers of huge 50's and 60's musicals.

Home Media: The original 2 1/2 hour version is easily found on all formats. It can currently be found streaming on Tubi for free. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi