tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19551514809196457152024-03-26T23:35:54.667-07:00Musical Dreams ReviewsReviews of musical films, from 1930s black and white to widescreen 21st century extravaganzas.Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.comBlogger879125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-28409746586300605702024-03-26T20:07:00.000-07:002024-03-26T20:07:52.017-07:00The Singing NunMGM, 1966<div>Starring Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban, Greer Garson, and Agnes Moorehead</div><div>Directed by Henry Koster</div><div>Music by Jeanne Deckers (Sister Sourie) and Noel Regney; Lyrics by Jeanne Deckers and Randy Sparks</div><div><br /></div><div>This year's religious musicals for Holy Week focus on performers from the church, competitive choirs or nuns who sang for their orders. Belgian nun Soeur Sourire, or The Singing Nun as she was known in the US, captured the heart of millions when she sang her hit "Dominique" on <i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i>. It shot to #1 on the US Pop Charts, making "Sister Smile" an instant sensation. She was so well-known, MGM almost immediately bought the rights to her life. How well does this movie capture her story and her charming music? Let's begin in Belgium, as Dominican nun Sister Ann (Reynolds) leaves a small order outside Antwerp on her scooter, and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Sister Ann was sent to a larger convent in a depressed part of Brussels to prepare for travel to Africa to work among the natives, but her real love is singing and playing guitar. Father Clementi (Montalban) is so impressed with her music, he persuades record executive Robert Gerade (Chad Everett) to make an album of her songs. Among those songs are "Dominique," a number Sister Ann wrote about a little boy (Ricky Cordell) whom her order takes care of. His father (Michael Pate) is a drunk, and the only other person who watches over the child is his tough teen sister Nicole (Katherine Ross). </div><div><br /></div><div>"Dominique" is a surprise smash after Sister Ann performs it for <i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i>, on the direct request of an impressed Sullivan (himself). Sister Ann and the convent are overwhelmed with offers and fan mail. Robert, who had dated Sister Ann when they both attended the Paris Conservatory of Music five years before, wants to renew old acquaintances as well. She's confused and frustrated, until tragedy makes her realize what she really wants to do with her life.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Some decent performances and the lovely music are the only things that make this even tolerable nowadays. Reynolds is a charming and peppery Singing Nun, especially when she's telling off a local girl (Colette Jackson) who doesn't intend to keep her child. Garson and Juanita Moore also do well as the understanding Mother Superior and the kindly African nun who becomes Sister Ann's best friend and greatest supporter. Montalban doesn't do too badly as the genial head of the order, and Ross manages to add a little spice in her few dramatic scenes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> "Brother John," the sing-along number Sister Ann performs with the nuns after her arrival, was actually written by Sparks and based after one of her songs, as was the sweet "Lovely." He also translated "Sister Adele" and "Beyond the Stars." Most of the songs are performed as medleys when Sister Ann is recording or playing for the citizens of Brussels. We get a medley of "Brother John," "It's a Miracle," "Raindrops," "I'd Like to Be," and "A Pied Piper" there. Other songs heard include "Avec Toi (With You I Shall Walk)" and "Put On Your Pretty Skirt." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Sadly, Sister Sourire was never able to recapture the success of "Dominique." She clashed with the Catholic Church over her stance on birth control and her fame and left the order around the same time the film came out. The money she made from "Dominique" went to her producer, the record company, or the church. Her attempts to rekindle her music career were met with resounding failure, and hit with more than $60,000 in back taxes, she and her partner ultimately took their lives in Belgium in 1985. </div><div><br /></div><div>The movie had an even more troubled production. Producer John Beck and Debbie Reynolds clashed so loudly and often over the script and the direction it was going, a shaken Henry Koster retired. </div><div><br /></div><div>This was Oscar-nominated for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaption or Treatment. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>This is the overly sweet pile of treacle everyone assumes <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2019/03/oscar-winners-sound-of-music.html">The Sound of Music</a></i> is. The Catholic Church didn't want anything even remotely critical getting out, which is why it pretty much has nothing to do with Deckers' tragic life. No wonder Reynolds was frustrated with the script. Bland Everett has little to do and even less chemistry with Reynolds. You can certainly understand why Sister Ann would choose work in Africa over this dull guy. Even the excellent performances can't keep it from collapsing into a pile of cliched melodrama in the second half. The songs aren't even presented accurately. "Dominique" was about St. Dominique, the founder of the Dominican Order, not a child.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you're a fan of Reynolds or religious films and can handle the sugar level, this is worth seeing for the songs alone.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Singing-Nun-Debbie-Reynolds/dp/B005I4HO16/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15X9AIXSHH8LS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9RdcmaxjbINRRJyWFQyFC2qTHd_hyu6hPYIyDRYepnMzyWthnxn7a115PQBzxkzqzO59o24A8JUzCrkzAAJNFosXDcROuls7KrgaJWXsKLgDEzU0NTEV20VpLwNcZUUF7AeUFC3MA-DMVsgrENPz57DZ4V9YskcBJLoFYGnIoxLHUSeb4BLQrbdo_uWKpnhgqqt-izxlgySVI9Mw5VRZcz3SMkc5ukS6-lhaN1YhKpk.FEH-AHQuRuLt32mRBAfZIVr6u2cFiucu1-iTV8eY0XY&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+singing+nun&qid=1711508854&s=movies-tv&sprefix=%2Cmovies-tv%2C137&sr=1-1">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.2ea9f791-7700-d773-91b5-4016d4bf8e5d?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-46533912870259403992024-03-23T13:41:00.000-07:002024-03-26T20:14:49.744-07:00Family Fun Saturday - Matilda the MusicalNetflix/Sony-Tristar, 2022<div>Starring Alisha Weir, Emma Thompson, Lashana Lynch, and Stephen Graham</div><div>Directed by Matthew Warchus</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin</div><div><br /></div><div>Roald Dahl's <u>Matilda</u> debuted in 1988 as one of his last books released during his lifetime. The tale of an abused girl who finds the way to get back at her neglectful parents and bullying head schoolmistress became one of the most successful children's books of the late 80's and is still regarded as one of the greatest of all time. The first stage musical version of Matilda debuted outside of London in 1990. It toured England, but wasn't well-received and never made the West End. </div><div><br /></div><div>An unrelated adaptation was such a huge hit in London, it's still running there at press time; a Broadway company proved almost as popular in 2015. Development for the movie began in 2013, but it didn't make it out until 2022. It was a hit in England and went over well on Netflix elsewhere, but how well does it do with its precocious "revolting children?" Let's begin in a hospital, where parents are eagerly awaiting the birth of their bundles of joy...all except one couple, the Wormwoods, who would rather have anything else...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Despite her parents' negligence, Matilda (Weir) grows up into a sweet and highly intelligent girl. She loves nothing more than to read books for hours and hours in her tiny attic room. Her favorite place is the mobile library, where she tells the librarian Mrs. Phelps (Sindu Vee) stories she's created. </div><div><br /></div><div>Local teacher Miss Honey (Lynch) and a local inspector insists Matilda attend school. She ends up attending Crutchem Hall, where Miss Honey works. Unfortunately, it's run by Miss Agatha Trunchbull (Thompson), a hulking brute of a woman who lords over the school with an iron fist. Matilda isn't going to be cowed by the likes of her, no matter what. Trunchbull can abuse every other child in the school and push Miss Honey out of her true inheritance, but Matilda has power of her own. She's show her parents and this petty tyrant that being "revolting children" doesn't mean you don't have lives and feelings of your own.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Of the adults, Thompson is far and away the most interesting. Her Trumbull is a barking tyrant, madly whirling around any charge who might step even the slightest bit out of line and relishing her over-the-top villainy. Weir more than matches her as the title character, who is only "naughty" to get back at her parents for treating her badly. Graham and Andrea Risenborough also rise to the occasion as the self-centered and obnoxious Wormwoods, who care only for themselves and what they can get. They're backed by a delightfully colorful production with location shooting at and around a real English manor to pass for Crutchem Hall.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open at a candy-colored hospital as doctors declare the newborn children to be a "Miracle." Every couple coos over their new child...every couple but the Wormwoods, who weren't prepared and don't want their miracle. Matilda says she's only "Naughty" so she can re-write her story and take back some of the power her parents insist on having over her. Oldest student Hortensia (Meesha Garbitt) sings the "School Song" to tell her how life at Crutchem Hall works. Miss Trunchbull claims she is "The Hammer" when she throws a child by the pigtails out the window, and she will not be disobeyed. The brief "Chokey Chant" by the children explains about the Iron Maiden-like device where Trunchbull locks children who misbehave.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Bruce" is the boy who is forced to eat an entire cake after he steals a slice from Miss Trunchbull. To her annoyance, everyone in the school, including Miss Honey, cheer him on. The children imagine what they'll be "When I Grow Up" when they go home from school, while Miss Honey remembers what she wanted to be as a child. As Matilda tells the story of the Escapologist and his wife, they both declare that "I'm Here," and they have feelings and a life, too. Miss Trunchbull forces the children to run in the rain to take "The Smell of Rebellion" out of them. All Matilda wants is "Quiet" as she imagines herself to be living on a hot air balloon somewhere high above Crutchem Hall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miss Honey recalls "My House" as she reveals just where the story of the Escapologist and his lost wife Matilda's told throughout the film came from. The kids finally get their rebellion after Matilda scares off Trumbull and they revel in being "Revolting Children," dancing around the school and pulling down her statue. It ends with Miss Honey and Matilda happily "Still Holding My Hand" as they turn the school into a happy place where children and adults can learn and grow together.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> <i>Matilda: The Musical</i> debuted on the West End stages in 2011. It was an instant sensation and continues to run there at press time. The Broadway show debuted in 2013 and would run until 2017. A film version directed by Danny DiVito wasn't a huge hit in 1996, but is now generally well-regarded as a family favorite from that era. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like</b>: There's been a few changes from the book and earlier adaptations. The end of the book and the show were originally a little darker. The Russian mob actually caught up with the Wormwoods, though they were ultimately impressed enough with Matilda's intelligence to let her go and encourage her staying with Miss Honey. Several characters from the book and previous versions were dropped, including Matilda's older brother Michael and the male deputy headmaster. </div><div><br /></div><div>Apparently, Matilda's story about the Escapologist and his wife was mostly sung in the stage show; here, it's mostly spoken except for "I'm Here." Other dropped numbers include two solos for Mr. Wormwood, "Telly" and "I'm So Clever," a number for Mrs. Wormwood, "Loud," and Miss Honey judging her life as "Pathetic." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> An absolute delight, especially if you have little girls in your house who have read the book or are voracious readers themselves. Highly recommended.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> This is currently a Netflix exclusive in the US. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80993016?source=35">Netflix</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-45352879872246402592024-03-21T21:16:00.000-07:002024-03-21T21:16:34.308-07:00Cult Flops - The Color Purple (2023)Warner Bros, 2023<div>Starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Colman Domingo</div><div>Directed by Blitz Bazawule</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>Few female characters on stage or in literature go through a more traumatic transformation than the three women in our next review. Alice Walker's decades-spanning epic about an abused black woman who eventually takes control of her life won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. Steven Spielberg directed the Oscar-winning non-musical film version in 1985, with Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in star-making roles as Ceile and Sofia. The Broadway musical debuted in 2005; it and a 2015 revival did so well, it began talk of returning the story to film. How well does the musical retelling of Miss Celie and her heartbreaking life come off? Let's begin with the young Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and her sister Nettie (Halle Berry) singing a hand-clapping game in a tree and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> By the time she's playing with Nettie in the tree, Celie has already had one child by her brutal father Alfonso Harris (Deon Cole) and is pregnant with another. Alfonso gives both children away, then forces her to wed local farmer Albert "Mister" Johnson (Domingo). Nettie tries to follow after her father attacks her too, but Mister drives her off. The two sisters swear they'll write as often as they can.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 1917, Alfonso's grown son Harpo (Corey Hawkins) marries no-nonsense Sofia (Brooks). He builds them a house in the swamp, but ends up turning it into a juke joint. Everyone is excited when singer Shug Avery (Henson) returns to town. She thrills Celie (Barrino), who falls hard for her. Sofia's not as happy with Harpo having taken a mistress, diminutive Mary "Squeak" Agnes (H.E.R), and ends up starting a fight with her on the night of Shrug's debut. Shug finds a letter from Nettie, who now lives with a missionary in Africa and is taking care of Celie's children. They find others Mister hid in the house.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sofia runs into trouble during the start of the Great Depression when she gets into a fight over not wanting to work for the Mayor's wife (Elizabeth Marvel). She ends up in jail and is forced to work for her anyway. Meanwhile, Ceile has had enough of Mister abusing her and cheating on her. She finally calls him on it during Easter 1943 and leaves him with Shug and her husband Grady (Jon Batiste) to Memphis. After she inherits her late father's shop, she turns it into a store for women's pants and hires Sofia, Shug, and Mary Agnes to work there. Mister, now a worthless drunk with a failing farm, finally decides it's time to make amends with his wife by bringing her and her long-lost sister and children back together.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Henson, Barrino, and Harris dance off with the film as the central trio who fight, feud, take abuse, and ultimately triumph. Harris got an Oscar nomination as the spitfire who loses her vivacity after ending up in jail, but finds her spirit again when Celie stands up to Mister. Berry's nearly as good in the early goings as the stronger sister who doesn't put up with the abuse Celie does. Pitch-perfect period costumes and gorgeous cinematography with some great touches that aptly show how the ladies and their lives change with the times. I also love how well they manage to make the two different musical approaches - the characters singing in normal time and in their heads - work together. Fatima Robinson's choreography brings life to a vibrant all-black community in the many ensembles. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with the girls' hand-clapping routine in the tree, "Huckleberry Pie." Everyone in town talks about the lord's "Mysterious Ways" as Celie looks forward to the birth of her second child. Celie dances with women doing wash in her mind as she admits that "She Be Mine," and her sister is all she has. Nettie and Celie admit that they have to "Keep It Movin'." Harpo's proud to be "Workin'" on his new home, even if his father just thinks it's noise. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sofia says "Hell No!" when Harpo tries abusing her...and says it again when the Mayor's wife wants her to be a maid. The entire town is excited about the arrival of singer "Shug Avery," especially Mister. Celie isn't as thrilled about her being in her home at first. She explains her feelings on religion in "Dear God - Shug." Shug's big number at the juke joint is "Push De Button." Celie imagines them singing "What About Love?" in an art deco fantasy on top of Shug's gramophone, complete with dance and kiss. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)" was written for the 1985 film; here, it's Shug's number for Celie on her birthday in Memphis. "Miss Celie's Pants" has all the ladies' feet tapping as they make the title garments and happily run their shop together. "I'm Here" says Celie triumphantly after she's able to turn down Mister when he tries to get back in her life. Shug finally returns to her father Reverend Avery (David Alan Grier) as they admit "Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Something." We end with the title song as Celie is reunited with her entire family at a picnic and everyone rejoices that they're all together and happy at last.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia: </b>The Broadway show wasn't popular with critics in 2005, who found it lumbering and watered-down. It managed to be a huge hit anyway, running for over three years. A well-received off-West End limited run in 2013 led to it returning to Broadway in 2015. The revival was almost as big of a hit, this time with audiences and critics. It ran for two years and picked up a Best Revival Tony and Tonys for its Celie, Cynthia Erivo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Danielle Brooks also played Sofia in the revival and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She got a Best Supporting Oscar nomination as well, the only Oscar nod the film received. Fantasia Barrio played Celie in the original 2005 production, having taken over from original Celie LaChanze. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feature film debut of H.E.R. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>All of the joyful, upbeat chorus numbers can't mask that this is one of the darkest recent musicals. Once again, if you're looking for something fluffy and light, this is not going to be your show. Like the book and original film, it's also very women-oriented. Men generally do not come off well here. Most of them are jerks, abusive, violent, ignorant, or some combination of the above. I have the feeling from some of the reviews online that a lot of people, particularly those who aren't fans of musicals to begin with, found those light jazz numbers to be out of place with the extremely downbeat drama. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> First of all, I'm going to admit this is my first encounter with this material. I have neither seen the 1985 movie, nor read the book. That said, I did enjoy it. The up-and-down tone is overcome by a terrific production and fabulous performances. See this on its own terms for the ladies and the great numbers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> As a brand-new title, this is easily found in all formats.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-DVD-Fantasia-Barrino/dp/B0CQ684RQZ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2V95FNPZH9LAY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7B3TGpPl8XdLTRTv9AVXYzxL5-19kuBZM22NMSIxBbDgg6MYipKeQ9SeU7pcRXxUmTas4lbPHMbmJ6lfRpILhZEx_E86N-mYdqPoQQ88jjlW6BSj2PEnWaUP9hAUZG2uhk8gkD_peK-v4fQomSpbeljcbV-Bj-YIhcH7W46oW3612ZX3Z1VALNFc_quGYNeyTa3QRNxqvVNYQtgZDPz1wDPfNQ0oUtyQfYzCQP8_2bk.ZJgwG2DWB9_7pd4fuZTJtu-njMl1HcYOr65FDT9Axvg&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+color+purple+2023&qid=1711080855&s=movies-tv&sprefix=%2Cmovies-tv%2C176&sr=1-3">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B0CQ6N9B6M/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7B3TGpPl8XdLTRTv9AVXYzxL5-19kuBZM22NMSIxBbDgg6MYipKeQ9SeU7pcRXxUmTas4lbPHMbmJ6lfRpILhZEx_E86N-mYdqPoQQ88jjlW6BSj2PEnWaUP9hAUZG2uhk8gkD_peK-v4fQomSpbeljcbV-Bj-YIhcH7W46oW3612ZX3Z1VALNFc_quGYNeyTa3QRNxqvVNYQtgZDPz1wDPfNQ0oUtyQfYzCQP8_2bk.ZJgwG2DWB9_7pd4fuZTJtu-njMl1HcYOr65FDT9Axvg&qid=1711080855&sr=1-3">Blu-Ray</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-Ultra-Digital-UHD/dp/B0CQ6JK2D9/ref=tmm_frk_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7B3TGpPl8XdLTRTv9AVXYzxL5-19kuBZM22NMSIxBbDgg6MYipKeQ9SeU7pcRXxUmTas4lbPHMbmJ6lfRpILhZEx_E86N-mYdqPoQQ88jjlW6BSj2PEnWaUP9hAUZG2uhk8gkD_peK-v4fQomSpbeljcbV-Bj-YIhcH7W46oW3612ZX3Z1VALNFc_quGYNeyTa3QRNxqvVNYQtgZDPz1wDPfNQ0oUtyQfYzCQP8_2bk.ZJgwG2DWB9_7pd4fuZTJtu-njMl1HcYOr65FDT9Axvg&qid=1711080855&sr=1-3">4K</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.c4451be1-dc0f-4c12-9f08-a0b1e1bbfa0e?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-968927974557165642024-03-19T22:09:00.000-07:002024-03-19T22:09:14.435-07:00I'll Cry TomorrowMGM, 1955<div>Starring Susan Hayward, Jo Ann Fleet, Richard Conte, and Eddie Albert</div><div>Directed by David Mann</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>This week, we're going to celebrate Women's History Month with dramas and biographies about women who went through hell and lived to tell the tale. Lillian Roth was a major vaudeville headliner when she appeared in early talkies like <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-love-parade.html">The Love Parade</a> </i>and one of Paramount's more popular stars of the era. By the time this movie came out, it had all vanished in a haze of alcohol, bad marriages, and worse financial choices. Her autobiography on how she overcame her problems with alcohol and abusive relationships, <u>I'll Cry Tomorrow</u>, was an international best-seller. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hayward started out as an typical cute ingenue in the late 30's. By 1955, she'd found her niche in harrowing portrayals of troubled women who overcame trauma to live successful lives. We've already seen one biography she starred in, <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2020/03/with-song-in-my-heart.html">With a Song In My Heart</a></i>. How does she do with Lillian Roth's equally harrowing life? Let's begin with 8-year-old Lillian (Carole Ann Campbell) and her mother Katie (Fleet) as she tries to push her daughter into an audition for a hit Broadway show and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Katie is determined that Lillian should have the chances she gave up to have a family. She does manage to get Lillian into a Broadway hit at age 6. Lillian (Hayward) keeps rising to the top, first as a vaudeville headliner, then in films at Paramount. Her mother's less happy when she becomes engaged to her childhood friend David Tredman (Ray Danton), claiming she's willing to give up her career for him. </div><div><br /></div><div>She's devastated when he dies on the night of her show opening. Her inability to deal with the loss starts her drinking to forget the pain. One night, she gets so drunk, she marries Wallie (Don Taylor), a pilot, without thinking. The marriage is loveless when they realize all they have in common is drinking and ends in divorce. Likewise, her second marriage to alcoholic Tony Barderman (Conte) begins well, but degenerates into him beating her when neither of them will give up drinking. Returning home to her mother ends with them fighting over her choices and Katie projecting her desires onto her daughter. </div><div><br /></div><div>After Lillian nearly jumps out her apartment window, she finally decides it's time to get real help and checks into Alcoholics Anonymous. She falls in love with her sponsor Burt McGuire (Albert), but he has his own issues with his polio. It takes her first group meeting and admitting all her struggles on the TV show <i>This Is Your Life</i> to make her see how addiction has impacted her life and taken her away from her first real, true love - performing.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> No doubt about it. This is rough stuff, especially for 1955. Hayward earned a deserved Oscar nomination as the singer whose reliance on liquor to mask her inner demons came at a devastating cost. She's especially effective in the second half, when liquor and Lillian's bad relationships start to take a toll on her. Fleet nearly matches her as the domineering stage mother who shoves her daughter into the career she wanted. The harrowing script pulls no punches and can be hard to watch at times, especially if you've known anyone who has been addicted to alcohol. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hayward claimed she wasn't a singer, but she does her own singing as Roth. Not only does she sound like Roth, but she has a fine, throaty voice. Makes me regret them using Jane Frohman's actual voice in <i>With a Song In My Heart.</i> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> Our first song is the sole large-scale production number. Roth really did sing "Sing You Sinners" in the 1930 Paramount musical <i>Honey</i>. Hayward throws herself into the big dance routine around a sketchy, stylized set with abandon. Our first nightclub routine gives us the song that would be Roth's signature throughout her career, "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along." We also get a darker number later when she's drunk onstage, "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." Albert and Hayward perform all three in a medley near the end at Alcoholics Anonymous, along with another song from a 1930 movie that featured Roth, "The Vagabond King Waltz." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia: </b>Sandy Ellis was originally to dub Hayward, until MGM heard her sing and were impressed. Roth was initially upset when MGM opted to let Hayward do her own singing. Hayward went to Vegas to study Roth's style, and the two ended up being good friends. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lillian Roth's life was even more difficult than what was depicted here. She actually went through six husbands, including McClure - they divorced in 1963. She did start on Broadway and in vaudeville as a child star, sometimes with her sister. Her mother did indeed manage her career and lived off her earnings, though Roth later claimed she wasn't as pushy as seen here. </div><div><br /></div><div>She also readily admitted to being overly reliant on others to handle her decisions, including abusive husbands. Roth never regained the huge stardom she had in the early 30's, but she did become a character actress in nightclubs and stage shows like the Broadway musicals <i>I Can Get It For You Wholesale </i>and <i>70 Girls 70</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> First and foremost, despite winning a Best Costume Oscar, they don't go in for historical accuracy at all. Other than some of the children's clothes in the beginning, it looks like 1955 for the entire movie. The gowns Hayward showcases are lovely, but nothing you can't see in countless other movies of the era. </div><div><br /></div><div>Second, as mentioned, this is not sweetness and light. If you're looking for a more typical or happier musical, you're in the wrong place. It does end happily, but getting there is harrowing, especially for recovering alcoholics who may have gone through much of what Lillian does here.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you love Hayward or are looking for a dark warts-and-all show business drama, you'll want to check out Roth's journey to recovery, too.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Can currently be found on streaming and on DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.</div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Susan-Hayward/dp/B01MS0OPCZ/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr="><br /></a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Susan-Hayward/dp/B01MS0OPCZ/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Susan-Hayward/dp/B0847P2H4W/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-83106327195486670592024-03-16T22:15:00.000-07:002024-03-16T23:41:45.906-07:00Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Top 'O the Morning <div style="text-align: left;">Paramount, 1949</div><div style="text-align: left;">Starring Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Ann Blyth, and Hume Cronyn </div><div>Directed by David Miller</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's celebrate the day of all things Irish with this unique musical mystery. This is the last of three films Fitzgerald and Crosby made together that began with the Oscar-winning <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2019/02/oscar-winners-going-my-way.html">Going My Way</a></i>. All three revolved around Crosby's laid-back lifestyle clashing with Fitzgerald's more traditional one...and what better place for a clash of cultures than in Fitzgerald's native Ireland? Let's begin just outside of Blarney Castle and find out how an insurance investigator who is looking for the stolen Blarney Stone deals with a very traditional policemen and their differing worldviews.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Joe Mulqueen (Crosby) arrives at the small town outside of the castle, only to be rejected by the fearful townspeople. The town's police chief Briany McNaughton (Fitzgerald) is especially distrustful of him. He wants to prove he and his deputy Hughie Devine (Cronyn) can solve a local case on their own, without outside interference. </div><div><br /></div><div>Joe ends up having more on his mind than finding the Blarney Stone. Briany's daughter Conn (Blyth) has been waiting for the day the man who fits the prophecy told to her by wise woman Biddy O'Devlin (Eileen Crowe). She's thrilled when it turns out Joe is the perfect match, and a fine singer to boot. Joe, however, hasn't told her why he's really in Ireland. Biddy knows, however, and it's her stories of Irish folk lore that eventually leads Joe, Briany, and Inspector Fallon (John McIntire) to the man who not only stole the Blarney Stone, but committed a murder, too.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> This is probably the closest Crosby would get to appearing in film noir or doing a flat-out thriller. Truth be told, for most of the movie, the real interest is in how Crosby reacts to Irish folk lore and Ireland's colorful citizens. He and Blyth work relatively well together despite the two-decade difference in their ages. In addition to Fitzgerald, I also like Crowe as the enigmatic wise woman who knows far more than she'll ever tell and Cronyn as the deputy whose enthusiasm for the case hides a dark secret. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> Joe performs the title song three times, first over the credits, then later with the maid (Mary Field) who is cleaning his room, and near the end with the two McNaughtons. He sings "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" with a nervous little girl when he arrives in Ireland. His performance of "My Beautiful Kitty" on the accordion is sentimental enough for the policemen to let him out of jail, at least the first time.</div><div><br /></div><div> "The Donovans" is the big chorus number at Briany's cottage. It somehow manages to expand to three times its size to fit all of the whirling lads and lasses performing a lively group jig. The other new song "You're In Love With Someone" is the big ballad Joe sings to Conn after the party, before she shows Joe her father's doves. They sing the lovely Irish folk song "Oh, 'Tis Sweet To Think" together at the McNaughtons' cottage. "My Lagen Hunt," the haunting ditty sung by the little boy Pearse O'Neill (Jimmy Hunt) is what finally brings the real thief out of hiding.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Crosby originally wanted Deanna Durbin to play Conn, but she had gone into retirement and would never make another film.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> For all the talk of Irish folk lore, legends, and customs, this feels a lot less authentic than John Ford's opus <i>The Quiet Man</i> from three years later. Paramount probably kept this one on the lot and in black and white because Bing's previous two big-budget musicals flopped. Technicolor and location shooting might have gone a long way to enhancing the drama and adding a lot more real Irish whiskey flavor. This is more like watered-down green beer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Blyth is an excellent singer in her own right, on a par with Durbin. Why on Earth doesn't she have more to sing besides her part of "Oh, 'Tis Sweet to Think?" Not to mention, there's the mood whiplash. This is pretty fluffy stuff until the last 20 minutes, when it suddenly takes a screeching left turn into shadowy film noir territory. It ends happily, but getting there is surprisingly dark for an otherwise sweet comedy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you're a fan of Crosby or Blyth or want to try something a little different for St. Patrick's Day, this venture into Irish folklore and mystery is worth checking out at least once.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> As far as I can tell, this exclusive to YouTube at the moment.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38P6Qt5B5x8">YouTube</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-72246100807841699592024-03-14T20:28:00.000-07:002024-03-14T20:28:43.187-07:00Girl HappyMGM, 1965<div>Starring Elvis Presley, Shelly Fabares, Gary Crosby, and Mary Ann Mobley</div><div>Directed by Boris Sagal</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>Even Elvis headed to Ft. Lauderdale for some fun in the spring sun. This is the second of three MGM responses to the success of the Beach Party series. I covered the snow-bound first entry, <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2024/01/get-yourself-college-girl.html">Get Yourself a College Girl</a></i>, back in January. This one features some of the same cast, this time in a story about a singer hired to chaperone a college girl who ends up falling for her. How does this come off today? To find out, we begin with a narrator telling us about the differences between warm Florida springs and the chilly March weather in Chicago, and why so many college students leave one for the other...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Rusty Wells (Presley) and his band are looking forward to their spring break in Ft. Lauderdale, but club owner "Big" Frank (Harold Stone) wants them to play four more weeks. Desperate to keep their time off, they agree to keep an eye on his daughter Valerie (Fabares) while she and her girlfriends are in Florida for Easter weekend. They think their job will be easy, until they see that Valerie and her friends are gorgeous blondes who are determined to meet boys and have fun in the sun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rusty at first pairs Valerie with nerdy Brentwood Von Durgenfeld (Peter Brooks) and pursues flirtatious Deena Shepherd (Mobley). Valerie is far more interested in handsome Italian playboy Romano Orlada (Fabrizio Mioni), while Deena doesn't appreciate Rusty constantly running out on her to rescue Valerie. He finally decides to escort Valerie himself, and ends up falling for her before Big Frank spills the beans. Now Rusty has to set things right between them, before Valerie gets herself - and half of Ft. Lauderdale - into real trouble.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> This is almost the flip side of <i>Get Yourself a College Girl</i> set in a more typical tropical location. That one showed beach party-type antics from the girl's point of view. Being an Elvis vehicle, this one focuses more on the guys. Fabares and Elvis have so much chemistry and work so well together, she played his love interest in two of his later vehicles. Brooks and Nita Talbot have a few good moments as the nerd who claims he wants a woman whose brains match his and the stripper who introduces Valerie to the delights of taking it all off. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number: </b>We open with Elvis performing the title song over the credits, and after they end, with his band in the Chicago nightclub. Valerie and her friends and Rusty and his band sing jauntily about their "Spring Fever" as the two groups drive to Florida. Rusty declares himself to be the "Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce" after he gets a load of Valerie at the pool and serenades her with the city's many charms. When she proves unresponsive, he reprises it for a more interested Deena. He and the band do "Startin' Tonight" and "Wolf Call" at their club date. Deena joins them for the latter, and gets really into it, too, wiggling with abandon. </div><div><br /></div><div>He sings "Do Not Disturb" while in his hotel room with Deena, but barely finishes before he has to go rescue Valerie. "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die" is his attempt to explain to her what happened. Stripper Sunny Daze's act consists of her removing a top and skirt made to look like newspapers while belting "I Got News for You." Valerie's drunken attempt at it later after she finds out why Rusty's in town is what leads to that riot in the club. Valerie gets in on another number, playing "The Meanest Girl In Town," complete with "I'm Evil" sign. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rusty encourages a group of college partiers on the beach to "Do the Clam" in order to distract Romano long enough to get Valerie away from him. He croons the gentle ballad "Puppet On a String" as he brings her back to the hotel later that night. They end the movie and the weekend back at the club with "I've Got to Find My Baby" and a reprise of the title song after Rusty does.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Rusty's band was dubbed by The Jordinaires. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> While this is a lot less bland than the earlier <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2024/03/palm-beach-weekend.html">Palm Beach Weekend</a> </i>and thankfully avoids that film's overwrought melodrama, it's also just as fluffy. Rusty's band members have slightly more to do than Valerie's friends, who barely appear as window dressing and in the "Spring Fever" number. Mobley doesn't come off nearly as well here as she did in <i>Get Yourself a College Girl </i>playing a thankless "other" role. And MGM seemed determined to stay on that huge lot of theirs. There apparently was some second-unit shooting in Florida, but most of the film was made in California, including the beach scenes, and lacks the authentic beach town feel of<i> Palm Beach Weekend</i> and the <i>Beach Party</i> films. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> One of Elvis' best later films is fine for his fans and those who are looking for something fluffy and fun to watch during their own spring breaks. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on DVD and streaming (the latter currently from the Warner Archives). </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Happy-Elvis-Presley/dp/B08QW837QW/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Happy-Elvis-Presley/dp/B001QUH88A/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-29419892055841953882024-03-12T20:54:00.000-07:002024-03-12T20:55:05.606-07:00Palm Beach Weekend<div style="text-align: left;">Warner Bros, 1963<br />Starring Connie Stevens, Troy Donahue, Robert Conrad, and Stephanie Powers</div><div style="text-align: left;">Directed by Norman Taurog</div><div style="text-align: left;">Music and Lyrics by various</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Spring break is a rite of passage for many college students. It's often the first time they're able to go on a vacation with little or no adult supervision. It was especially important in the 60's and 70's, as Baby Boomers became teens and young adults and created a culture all their own. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This week, we're going to check out two more movies on the spring break experience in the sexually liberated 60's, starting with Warners' lone contribution to the teen beach genre. This was really more their response to the overwhelming success of <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2023/03/where-boys-are-1960.html">Where the Boys Are</a></i> in 1960. <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2022/08/beach-party.html">Beach Party</a></i> debuted during production and at least somewhat altered this look at Easter weekend for a group of teens and college students in the title desert resort. Let's join a college football team, along with tourist Gail Lewis (Stevens), on a Greyhound bound for the title city and find out...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Story: </b>Gail takes a room at a local hotel with Amanda (Zeme North). Slightly plain Amanda is able to throw men over her shoulder, but would rather be making out with them. Gail is attracted to two handsome young men, stuntman Doug "Stretch" Fortune (Ty Hardin) and playboy Eric Dean (Robert Conrad). Amanda ends up with weird and equally desperate college student Biff Roberts (Jerry Van Dyke). Local teen Bunny Dixon (Stephanie Powers) falls for sweet football star Jim Munroe (Donahue). Football coach Fred Campbell (Jack Weston) tries to keep his boys on the straight and narrow, but that's hard when he's being pursued by the hotel's owner Naomi Yates (Carole Cook). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The weekend goes south almost the moment everyone arrives. Amanda spends most of the time dealing with Naomi's bratty son "Boom Boom" (Bill Mumy), who is determined to cause mischief. Drunks from the area stumble into a party and get into a fist fight with the football team that ends with all of the guests - including Bunny - in jail. Her father is furious and refuses to let her see Jim again. By the end of the weekend, Gail realizes that she's in over her head as well when Stretch and Eric's interest in her ends with a near-tragic car chase in the desert. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Song and Dance:</b> They were going for <i>Where the Boys Are</i>, and they mostly succeeded. This is a decent look at how an influx of hormonal older teens and college kids affects one desert town. Stevens and Conrad get top honors as the girl who looks - and is trying to act - older than her age, and the spoiled young man who learns a rough lesson about responsibility and not always getting what you want. The location shooting around Palm Springs is gorgeous, especially some long shots of desert vistas that amply shows off the glowing color and bright bathing suits. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with Donahue performing "Live Young" over the credits as the college football guys plan their weekend and Conrad flirts with Stevens. Biff comes out to the pool with a guitar and insists that Stretch is playing the standard "Bye Bye Blackbird" too slow. They pick up the pace with a lively banjo-guitar duet. The Modern Folk Quartet performs two numbers, the second being "Song of the Ox-Drivers," at the Las Vegas nightclub before Connie's suitors fight over her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Trivia:</b> Stevens, Donahue, and Conrad were just ending their run on the action show <i>Hawaiian Eye</i> when this debuted. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's Mike Henry, who later played Tarzan and Junior Justice in the <i>Smokey and the Bandit </i>films, as the doorman who watches a parked car fall apart.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Screenwriter Earl Hammer Jr. would later go on to create the TV shows <i>The Waltons</i> and<i> Falcon Crest</i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>What I Don't Like:</b> First of all, I'm disappointed this isn't more of a musical. Stevens is known as a singer, but doesn't get to sing, and Donahue is only heard over the credits. They couldn't have snuck a number in for one or the other somewhere? There's also the fact that, of the main cast, the only one who is even remotely the right age is Powers (who was 20 at the time). The others are all in their late 20's and 30's, way too old for teens and college students. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The change in direction during production shows all over the place. The first half wants to be <i>Beach Party</i> in the desert, with Amanda tossing guys all over the place and Boom Boom dumping suds in the pool. It abruptly changes gears to <i>Where the Boys Are</i> during and after the disastrous party that ends with everyone in jail. In fact, what kicked off the fracas was one of the gang members attempting to force a girl to drink liquor when she didn't want to. After they get out, the gang is never seen or mentioned again. That near-tragic car race in the end seems more than a little out-of-place too, and a bit dark for everything that came before it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Big Finale:</b> Too unfocused to be my favorite vacation story, but not horrible if you love the cast or teen comedy-dramas from the 60's.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former from the Warner Archives.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Palm-Springs-Weekend-Robert-Conrad/dp/B075YL2K1H">DVD</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Palm-Springs-Weekend-Robert-Conrad/dp/B00CSJI6XO/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-16953520099052930572024-03-09T02:10:00.000-08:002024-03-10T01:10:37.318-08:00Family Fun Saturday - Once Upon a Mattress (1972)CBS, 1972<div>Starring Carol Burnett, Ken Berry, Jane White, and Wally Cox</div><div>Directed by Ron Field and Dave Powers</div><div>Music by Mary Rodgers; Lyrics by Marshall Barer</div><div><br /></div><div>The 2005 Disney rendition of this show was far from the first time it was adapted for the small screen. The star of the original Broadway hit Carol Burnett appeared in two versions in 1964 and 1972. Along with White and Jack Gilford, who also appeared with her in the original Broadway cast, we have TV sitcom vets Cox and Ken Berry and then-hot stage ingenue Bernadette Peters in a wacky retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Princess and the Pea. How nutty does this one get? Let's begin with Carol as she tells her daughter the fairy tale as a bedtime story and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Prince Dauntless the Drab (Berry) wants to find a bride, but his controlling mother Queen Aggravain (White) gives every prospective princess a series of impossible tests that scares them off. No one in the kingdom can marry until Dauntless does. This is a problem for Lady Larkin (Bernadette Peters) and her knight suitor Sir Harry (Ron Husmann). They've had a...little indiscretion...and she's now expecting. King Sextimus (Gilford) can't do anything either, as he's under a curse that won't allow him to speak until "the mouse devours the hawk." </div><div><br /></div><div>Harry goes in search of a bride who can pass the tests and comes up with Princess Winifred (Burnett), who swims the moat to get in the castle. Call her "Fred." Fred is loud, brash, and has more energy than everyone else in the castle put together. Aggravain immediately hates her, but Dauntless wants to marry her. The queen devises a test that would have Fred feel a single pea under twenty mattresses. Larkin, Harry, and the Jester (Cox) lend a hand to make sure Fred will feel that darn pea no matter what!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> No wonder Burnett loved this so much, she played Fred twice. She's got energy to spare and has some great routines, including her attempts to sleep on that towering bed. Berry is an adorably awkward Dauntless, Cox gets some of the best lines as the deadpan Jester who sees all and knows all, and Peters is hilarious as the sweet noblewoman with a big problem and a clueless boyfriend. The bright sets give the show the look of a pop-up storybook, and the colorful Bob Mackie costumes mix every color in the rainbow with total abandon.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with Burnett singing "Many Moons Ago" as she tells the idealized picture book version of the story to her daughter. "An Opening for a Princess" gives us the actual version as Cox explains what's going on and we see the tests and learn Harry and Larkin's situation. Harry and Larkin admit that they'll be having an addition to the family "In a Little While." Princess Winifred tells everyone about "The Swamps of Home" when she arrives. She can out-dance the entire court, including the Queen and Prince, in "The Polish Panic." </div><div><br /></div><div>The Queen's ladies-in-waiting chant that the Queen wants "Quiet," when she's hardly quiet herself. While studying for her Princess Test, Fred laments that her "Happily Ever After" is a lot harder than for most fairy-tale heroines. Dauntless and his father have a "Man to Man Talk," or mime, about what Dauntless should expect on his wedding night. Harry and Larkin reprise "In a Little While" when they intend to run away. We end with the cast singing "An Opening for a Princess" as Dauntless carries the very worn-out Fred to their bed.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> The stage version started off-Broadway in May 1959, but moved uptown later that year. It played for over a year, until Burnett left the show. The 1960 London production with Jane Connell expired after three weeks. A Broadway revival in 2005 with Sarah Jessica Parker barely ran five months. Last month's Encores concert with Sutton Foster as Fred and Cheyenne Jackson as Dauntless seems to have been better received.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>Once again, a lot was revised and eliminated from the Broadway version. Most of the Minstrel's exposition role went to Cox and to Lyle Waggoner as a nobleman the Queen is trying to seduce. Among the songs lost were the cute but extraneous "Very Soft Shoes," "Normandy" for Larkin, the Queen's "Sensitivity," and two more duets for Larkin and Harry, "Song of Love" and "Yesterday I Loved You." Oh, and if you don't like Burnett or her broad style of comedy, forget it. Also, I kind of wish we could have returned to the bedtime story prologue in the finale, if only to hear the kid's reaction to Burnett claiming that was the real story. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you love Burnett, her show, or the wacky sitcoms of the late 60's and early 70's, you'll probably get a very big kick out of this satirical take on fairy tales. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media: </b>This can currently be found as an extra on the DVD <i>Carol + 2: The Original Queens of Comedy</i>, a 1966 Burnett special that also includes Lucille Ball and Zero Mostel. It's also on YouTube (along with the long-lost 1964 version). </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FqTnsLoReo">DVD - <i>Carol + 2: The Original Queens of Comedy</i></a></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FqTnsLoReo">YouTube</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-22826858504058028972024-03-07T22:53:00.000-08:002024-03-12T21:01:54.110-07:00Alexander's Ragtime Band20th Century Fox, 1938<div>Starring Alice Faye, Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, and Ethel Merman</div><div>Directed by Henry King</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin</div><div><br /></div><div>By the time this came out, Faye was one of Fox's biggest stars. She had just made the semi-musical disaster film<i> In Old Chicago</i> with Power and Ameche, which was a huge hit. This one would be even bigger, Fox's biggest hit of the 1930's. Berlin himself wrote the story of how popular music changed in the years between the debut of his 1911 title song and 1938. In many ways, it also parallels Faye's career and how she went from platinum blonde Jean Harlow imitation to a warm honey-haired beauty who had a way with a ballad. How well does it look today? Let's begin in 1911, as Alexander (Power) plays classic music at a concert and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> What Alexander really wants to do is start his own band. He and his boys barely managed to get a job at a small-time club when another group quits. They grab the first sheet music they can find to play, which turns out to be a number that blowsy singer Stella Kirby (Faye) had been trying to push on the owner. She eventually joins them in the song, and later in the band. </div><div><br /></div><div>Alexander cleans up her low-down image as they go on to bigger and better clubs. Despite her initial resistance, she and Alexander end up falling in love. They're playing at the Cliff House when they try to get an audition with big-time New York producer Charles Dillingham. Turns out he only wants Stella. Alexander's angry and disappointed, but she does take the offer.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's far from his only problem. The band breaks up when they're all drafted into World War I. Alexander does manage to put on a show for the Army that's a big hit, enough for the band to get back together after the Armistice. Their new singer is brash Jerrie (Merman), who not only lends her own unique sound to the Band, she falls for Alexander, too. Alexander, however, has never forgotten Stella, even though she's now a huge star on Broadway and is in love with former bandmate Charlie Dwyler (Ameche). Jerrie and the rest of the bad figure it's high time they brought Stella back into the fold, just in time for a huge jazz performance at Carnegie Hall.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> It's the music and the cast who largely carry the day here. Faye and Merman may have opposing styles, but they both do equally well as the tough singer who starts as a floozy and ends up a star and the brassy belter who also loves Alexander...but understands better than him who he really cares about. Ameche is charming as the songwriter for the band who at least temporarily gets Stella, and Jack Haley gets a few good gags as a member of the band who keeps flirting with the same girl (Ruth Terry) for two decades. Fox spared no expense on the production, with gorgeous gowns for the ladies and spectacular recreations of San Francisco and New York in the 1910's and 20's. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We kick off with the title song, played by Alexander at his band at that low-down bar. They start out playing it as a quieter parlor ballad, but by the time Faye kicks in with the lyrics, it's now the lively ragtime dance tune it was meant to be. We also get "Ragtime Violin," performed by members of the band. Stella defies Alexander and goes out dressed the way she wants for "International Rag." She does finally start to change her look for "This Is the Life." Dancers Wally Vernon and Dixie Dunbar get a great duo ballroom routine here. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our first of two new songs is the ballad "Now It Can Be Told." Charlie first sings this for Stella after he's written it. She's so impressed, she brings it to the band, who perform it at the Cliff House this very night. Stella does "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'" so well, it sells Dillingham on her. A man at the recruiting station brings in the Band with "For Your Country and My Country." Jack Haley gets to sing "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," the song Berlin himself introduced in the original Yip, Yip, Yaphank on Broadway in 1917. We also get two more authentic Great War era chorus numbers, "We're On Our Way to France" and "I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine at the W.M.C.A."</div><div><br /></div><div>Jerrie first sings "Say It With Music" and "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" when she's trying to convince Alexander to give her a chance. She and Stella do sing "Blue Skies" together, but Stella never gets to Alexander. The next montage takes us through the 20's, with Jerrie getting the big chorus number "Pack Up Your Sins and Go to the Devil" and the new "My Walking Stick" and Stella performing "Everybody Step" and the darker laments "Remember" and "All Alone." We get a montage of Berlin favorites at Carnegie Hall. Charlie joins the female chorus for "Easter Parade," Merman blares "Heat Wave," and the chorus gets "Marie."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Three numbers were cut from the final film. Merman had a second big number in the Carnegie Hall finale "Marching Through Time," Ameche had "Some Sunny Day," and Haley had a second comedy number with Wally Vernon and another dancer, "In My Harem." All exist and are included on the DVD. </div><div><br /></div><div>Not only was this 20th Century Fox's biggest hit film of the 30's, it was the top hit of 1938. </div><div><br /></div><div>John Carradine can be spotted near the end as the taxi driver who takes Stella to Carnegie Hall. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Song ("Now It Can Be Told"), but only took home Best Scoring. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Cliff House was a real restaurant in San Francisco. It was rebuilt twice before the third version the band plays at opened in 1909. The restaurant closed in 2021, but the building still exists, and the exteriors look pretty much the same as they do in the movie.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> When was this set again? It's historically accurate only for the first 20 minutes. Once the band starts getting popular, any attempt at history flies out the door of the Cliff House. After World War I, it looks like 1938 for the rest of the film. They don't even attempt to age the characters. You'd never know time passed at all if people didn't say it did. </div><div><br /></div><div>No matter how much Fox kept throwing him into them, Power never was comfortable in musicals. He's far stiffer here than either of his leading ladies. I suspect he'd be much happier with a sword than a baton. Haley and Ameche are far more at ease than he is. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you love Faye, Merman, or Berlin, this lively look at some of his most popular songs is highly recommended. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> It can only be found streaming at Vudu Fandango, but the DVD is readily available. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alexanders-Ragtime-Band-Tyrone-Power/dp/B0002B15RE">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.vudu.com/content/browse/details/Alexanders-Ragtime-Band/8346?cmp=OrganicSearch~Vudu~GoogleWatch">Vudu Fandango </a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-79503443133004028292024-03-05T21:49:00.000-08:002024-03-05T21:49:06.560-08:00365 Nights In HollywoodFox Film Corporation, 1934<div>Starring James Dunn, Alice Faye, Frank Mitchell, and Grant Mitchell</div><div>Directed by George Marshall</div><div>Music by Richard Whiting; Lyrics by Sidney Clare</div><div><br /></div><div>Singer Alice Faye is in the spotlight this week in two of her earliest hits. She was an up-and-coming star at Fox when she made this, her fourth major film, and just 19 years old. James Dunn was also a new star at Fox, having made two movies with Shirley Temple earlier in 1934. The real story in Hollywood at this point were the backstage musicals Warners made with Busby Berkeley the year before. Suddenly, every studio in Hollywood wanted their own spectacular backstage shows, and Fox was no exception. How does their Tinseltown-set backstage story look today? Let's begin at an acting school run by former Hollywood director Jimmy Dale (Dunn) and find out t...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> The acting school is really a front for Dale and con man Percy (Frank Marshall) to take hopeful actors' money. What Jimmy never expected is for a girl with genuine talent to walk through their doors. Alice Perkins (Faye) proves to be such a good singer, he decides it's time to return to Hollywood and make a movie starring her. Marshall still wants to play con games and skim the money intended for the film's budget from the naive young millionaire (Frank Melton) who is backing it, but Dale is falling for Alice and is happy to be back in Tinseltown. He'll see this movie through and make sure the money is there if it kills him and Alice. Alice just wants him to see her as more than a set of pipes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> First of all, I do like that this is set in movies, rather than it being a Broadway show like the Warners films. At least they're trying for something slightly different. Alice Faye may have platinum hair like Jean Harlow, but her warm, good-natured demeanor makes her a lot more than a mere vamp and pairs well with the equally down-to-Earth Dunn. There's some decent costumes, especially in the two big musical numbers, and the numbers themselves are a trip, to put it mildly.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> Our first real number isn't until almost fifteen minutes in, but it's "Give Him Love," which Alice sings at a party for the acting school. Dunn's so impressed with her voice he promotes her to leading lady, in his life and work. After Dale spends ten minutes berating and pushing Alice and trying to better her voice, we finally see her perform "I'd Like to Say Yes to You." It starts off ordinary, with Alice singing it with a line of chorus boys. Things really get bizarre when she chases John Bradford, as her smarmy co-star Adrian Almont. literally around the world. He keeps seeing different versions of her in every country he stops at, until he turns things around and chases her. There's some nice special effects early-on in the number when he keeps seeing her everywhere.</div><div><br /></div><div>The finale number "My Future Star" is nearly as bizarre. It also starts out very meta, with Dole trying to decide which lady will star in his big number. Somehow, this becomes him and Alice imagining Mae West ends up in trees with Tarzan and gives him the kisses to end all kisses. We also briefly hear acting school student Jack Durant imitating Bing Crosby singing his huge hit "When the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Apparently, there's a reason the copy currently seen at Amazon is so bad. This was sourced from the only surviving print. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> Despite the relatively unique setting and story, this still follows all the standard beats for a backstage musical from this era. It wears its Busby Berkeley imitation card on its sleeve. The two big musical numbers are among the most bizarre I've ever seen in a major musical from this time. I know the Tarzan films and Mae West's comedies were popular in 1934, but their appearance in "My Future Star" makes no sense whatsoever. Nor does the around-the-world chase in "I'd Like to Say Yes to You." Durant and Frank Mitchell are supposed to be the comic relief as a pair of friendly ice delivery men who are also students at the acting school, but they're far more annoying than their are funny.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> Fans of Faye, Dunn, or the big Busby Berkeley-style musicals of the 30's will be glad to see this in any shape. It's worth checking out for those strange numbers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on DVD and on streaming.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/365-Nights-Hollywood-Alice-Faye/dp/B00009Q4W6/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2XCEDPBS3R4I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.olJfyQ9_yhPF-zgz38X7K6JhsrQVb2eU3SNzPD_e2fqsee9fVNGSLecHcCqHkVP7teMXThaIWY63q_a8qnNn2BJk7Zd39RQ5mwRQ7YzwvSk.G36uuBy11BYFAk_R47Xq_2pkyoQdaH5wbAVLmWZpKBc&dib_tag=se&keywords=365+nights+in+hollywood&qid=1709704116&s=movies-tv&sprefix=%2Cmovies-tv%2C318&sr=1-2">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/365-Nights-Hollywood-Alice-Faye/dp/B000YTI3Y2">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-11136877317331525482024-03-02T23:04:00.000-08:002024-03-02T23:04:25.350-08:00Family Fun Saturday - Pixel PerfectDisney, 2004<div>Starring Ricky Ullman, Leah Pipes, Spencer Redford, and Chris Williams</div><div>Directed by Mark A.Z Dippe</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>This is Disney's second TV musical under the Disney Channel Movie banner, predating even <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2019/01/musicals-on-tv-double-feature-high.html">High School Musical</a>. </i>The internet was still something new and relatively uncharted when this movie debuted. The sky was the limit when it came to how it worked and what could be done with it. AI was also in its primitive form as computer programmers worked on creating images that could be inserted anywhere, even real life. What happens when a teenage boy creates a program that literally takes on a life of its own? Let's begin with that teen, Roscoe (Ullman) and his father (Brett Cullen) as they argue over what can be done with this new technology and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Roscoe wants to help his best friend Samantha (Pipes) and her band the Zetta Bytes get a gig. Samantha was told that her group needs to dance, but she's more comfortable behind her guitar. Roscoe creates a sentient human hologram he names Loretta (Redford) who is a composite of Samantha and many girls he's seen in magazines. </div><div><br /></div><div>Loretta has no difficulty singing and dancing for the group. She's a huge hit, even after people figure out she's a hologram. Samantha, however, has a crush on Roscoe and resents how perfect Loretta is. Loretta wishes she could be human like Samantha, to feel emotions and rain on her face. When the record company that signs the girls tries to take Loretta's programming to make more musical stars, but Roscoe realizes that would make them less individual. </div><div><br /></div><div>Loretta flees into the Internet and mails herself to the one person who can help her be truly human, the one who doesn't think she's perfect...Samantha. When Samantha falls off the stage during a concert, she enters her mind to convince her that being human is a far happier experience than unattainable perfection. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance: </b>This one ended up being a real surprise. I was expecting a Disney version of the John Hughes comedy<i> Weird Science</i>. What I got was the touching and sad story of a boy who creates what he thinks is the perfect girl, until that girl wants to be more than his idea of perfection. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ullman's not bad as well-meaning Roscoe, but the movie really belongs to his girlfriends. Pipes and Redford are wonderful as the very human teen girl who wants Roscoe to see her, flaws and all, and the computer program who wishes she had those flaws. The last twenty minutes when Loretta confronts Sam in her mind, then manages to feel rain for the first time, are among the most heartbreaking in any Disney Channel film.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with "Perfectly" sung over the credits. Samantha and the Zeta Byttes insist "Nothing's Wrong With Me" at their audition, but that's not what the producer thinks. "Notice Me" is Loretta's first big number when she's introduced with the band. We also get "If You Wanna Rock" and "Don't Even Try It." "Get Real" is ironically the song Loretta's performing when she starts flickering out, and people realize she's not human. Samantha ends with "When the Rain Falls," and there's not a dry eye in the house as she sings about Loretta and how she changed her life and Roscoe's.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> The story, while sweet and sad, is also cliched to high heck. This is nothing people haven't seen in everything from <i>AI: Artificial Intelligence</i> to the aforementioned <i>Weird Science.</i> It's pretty much the leads' story. Roscoe's dad is the only other person who really registers. We barely get to see the other members of the band, or even the record executives who caused so much trouble. I would loved to have seen more of the inner workings of the internet that Loretta travels through, too. I thought that was a nice touch.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you think a Disney Channel musical can't be sad or dramatic, give this early attempt a shot. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Perhaps it's appropriate that this is streaming only at the moment. You can find it at Amazon Prime and Disney Plus with a subscription.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/video/c2423b17-b7f6-4ca0-8462-dbda9b4ab265?distributionPartner=google">Disney Plus</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pixel-Perfect-Not-Specified/dp/B01925ZP3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1R0Z7FRXTIB9R&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.L6wO3OWBA5lKTPO_OhrUsw.0GOTLFF8PAA0H7RVAQvcRMuAyn5jgvclglGDz07Woko&dib_tag=se&keywords=Pixel+Perfect+Disney&qid=1709449321&s=movies-tv&sprefix=pixel+perfect+disney%2Cmovies-tv%2C102&sr=1-1">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-56462974683737065262024-02-29T21:53:00.000-08:002024-02-29T21:53:43.408-08:00Musicals On Streaming - Roxanne RoxanneNetflix, 2017<div>Starring Chante Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, and Elvis Nolasco</div><div>Directed by Michael Larnell</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>We transition from Black History Month to Women's History Month on this Leap Day with this biography of a pioneering female rap artist. Like the performers in <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/krush-groove.html">Krush Groove</a></i> and <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/beat-street.html">Beat Street,</a></i> Lolita "Roxanne" Shante Gooden got her start singing on the streets of Queens. Her specialty was rap battles, answering a song written by another performer with her own song. She became known for her rapped put-downs and responses to the largely male-dominated rap business. How does the story of how she got started look today? Let's begin with a young Lolita (Adams) as she picks rap battles even as a child and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Lolita was a member of a rap collective, "The Juice Crew," that produced records that were answers to their many "beefs" with local rivals like Sparky Dee (Cheryse Dyllan). She was living with her mother when she recorded an answer to the song "Roxanne Roxanne" called "Roxanne's Revenge." The song was a hit, making her one of the first major female rap recording artists at 14. </div><div><br /></div><div>She does well recording another rap battle with Sparky, but her love life is a mess. She moves in with her drug-dealing boyfriend Ray (Ali) after a falling-out with her mother, but it proves to be a volatile relationship, especially after she has a son. She has an even harder time keeping her career going, especially after the money from her rap battles she intended for her family to move to New Jersey is stolen. She finally gives up her career, but not before she's able to see what an impact she's made on the rap genre. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Adams is phenomenal as Roxanne Shante, the confused teenager who knows she loves her rap battles, but has a harder time with her love life. Long does even better as her tough-as-nails mother who is fighting her own inner demons. I have to hand it to these ladies - they're portrayed as tough, independent, and all above, better than the useless men around them. Ali is the best of the awful men in her life as the guy who gets the closest to her. There's some nice location shooting around the real Queens and a few nice editing bits, notably going from the bedroom to screaming like she's in labor. It effectively shows the passage of time in a movie that sorely needs more moments like that.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> "Roxanne's Revenge" is heard many times throughout the film, including when she first records it before it becomes a hit. We hear snatches of other numbers from the Juice Crew, including "Keep It Funky" and "And My Beat Goes Boom." "What Have We Done" is the question asked during a dance number at a local club. "Sparky's Turn" is Sparky's response. "Round 1 (Roxanne Shante vs Sparky D)" gets so heated, the guys want to make a recording and turn it into an act. "Runaway" is her number later with Juice Crew. We also get her "Payback."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> I wish this was a lot more of a musical. They spend so much time on Roxanne's relationships with these terrible men and how she survives them, we really don't get to see much of the career that made her such a hot commodity to begin with. No songs are performed in full until the credits, not even her rapped fight with Sparky. And be warned, this is rough going. The language and violence (including domestic violence) makes this not a rap tale for children.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale: </b>Some good performances, but I think they missed a real opportunity to show why rap was so important to Lolita and how she burned out so early. Only if you're a huge fan of early rap or want to know more about Roxanne. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> This is a Netflix exclusive at the moment.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80171733?source=35">Netflix</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-13345583876759587532024-02-27T23:09:00.000-08:002024-02-27T23:23:11.717-08:00Bob Marley: One Love (2024) Paramount, 2024<div>Starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, and Tosin Cole</div><div>Directed by Renaldo Marcus Green</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Bob Marley and others</div><div><br /></div><div>Our first biography this week covers a musician who was popular around the same time as <a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/ray-2004.html">Ray Charles</a>, but in a very different place and genre. Bob Marley and his group the Wailers started out in the mid-60's, but they were at the height of their popularity from the mid-70's through the early 80's. His "I Shot the Sheriff" was recorded by Eric Clapton in 1975, leading fans in the US and around the world to discover his work. By the time this movie begins in 1976, he was hoping to use his clout to end civil war in his native Jamaica...but it didn't go anywhere near as he planned, as we'll see here...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Marley, his wife Rita (Lynch), and his band are attacked by unknown assailants at his home in Jamaica. Everyone survives, and he does go through with the concert. Still shaken by the attempt on his life by his own countrymen, he sends Rita and his children to his mother's home in Delaware, then heads to London with his band. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rita rejoins him as he struggles to come up with an idea for his next album. He finally gets it from hearing one of his bandmates playing the soundtrack from the 1960 film <i>Exodus</i> and comparing it to their own situation. This leads to the recording of their album <i>Exodus</i>, which would be a best-seller in the UK. </div><div><br /></div><div>Their European tour commences to sell-out crowds. Marley is so encouraged, he wants to take the band to Africa in order to encourage independence there. Rita's not crazy about the idea, or about his many affairs. He's not overly delighted with her affairs, either, or that their long-time manager Don Taylor (Anthony Welsh) has been pocketing money intended for the Africa concert. None of that matters when Marley discovers that a toe infection turns out to be something far worse, and he literally has nothing to lose in going back to Jamaica and trying to unite the people again.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> I'll be honest. I didn't know much about Marley before this other than he was influential in reggae and died young. This was an eye-opener for me in more ways than one. I do appreciate that it took a slightly different approach to a musical biography. Focusing on one time in Marley's life allows us to get to know him and the people in his life in ways they often don't get away with in a standard through-the-years film. Ben-Adir and Lynch rise above all as the laid-back musician who only wants to bring worlds together, and his frustrated wife who loves him, but doesn't love his lifestyle. Terrific cinematography too that shows off Jamaica and London in all their 70's grit and glory. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> Our first actual song is "Get Up, Stand Up," which they play at Marley's home during a party before the first concert. We see in a flashback how they get "Roots, Rock, Reggae" early on. The Wailers rehearse "I Shot the Sheriff" the night of the assassination attempt. A shattered Marley performs "No More Trouble" and "War" at the first concert, showing off his wounds from the gunshots. "So Jah S'eh" shows off Marley's conversion to Rastafarianism. </div><div><br /></div><div>We get a montage of the Wailers recording songs from his <i>Exodus </i>album and later performing them to enthusiastic crowds on tour, including the title song, "Jammin'," "Natural Mystic," and "Three Little Birds." "Turn the Lights Down Low" underscores a love seen between him and Rita in the past. "No Woman, No Cry" gives us the sound of the real Marley. We finish with footage of the real second Jamaican concert and "One Love/People Get Ready," "Redemption Song," and "Is This Love."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>While this gets closer to the truth than <i>Ray</i>, it's still full of cliches. It barely mentions that Marley had many other affairs than the one that sets Rita off (and Rita had numerous affairs of her own), or that Marley produced children with other women besides her. To this day, they haven't found out who tried to kill Marley and the Wailers, and they certainly never apologized to him for it. There's also the characters' Jamaican accents and language. It's entirely accurate to the place, time, and characters, but they're so thick that the movie could have used subtitles in places. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale: </b>There's enough good performances and music here for fans of Marley, reggae, or the music of the 70's to check out.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Currently available for pre-order at Amazon Prime.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Marley-Love-Kingsley-Ben-Adir/dp/B0CV3Y2KXD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13Q4HLDUDV6Q4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rU-hOgTnghvxDef4xdO8t6T3NvdJfzI6GJqQSChVo7A.sKCRzp0BwUk6y5d2jYZGIlF5NOPszCTivn6Tjg8SnBs&dib_tag=se&keywords=bob+marley+one+love+movie+2024&qid=1709104128&s=movies-tv&sprefix=Bob+Marley+One+Love%2Cmovies-tv%2C117&sr=1-1">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-81494025743083727012024-02-24T15:45:00.000-08:002024-02-24T15:47:16.764-08:00Animation Celebration Saturday - Tom & Jerry: Back to OzWarner Bros, 2016<div>Voices of Grey Griffin, Joe Alasky, Jason Alexander, and Michael J. Gough</div><div>Directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>I was actually looking forward to this one. I've wondered why the many sequels to <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> aren't adapted more often. Disney's delightfully macabre <i>Return to Oz</i> is one of my favorite movies. Perhaps that movie's failure in the mid-80's scared filmmakers away from diving further into the Oz mythos than the first book, or they believe it's impossible to compete with <a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-wizard-of-oz.html">the still-popular 1939 version.</a> Warners decided to give it a shot with their own version of several follow-up Oz novels, once again featuring Tom & Jerry. How do they do with another Oz tale? Let's begin back in Kansas and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Dorothy wishes someone would listen to her when she tells them about Oz. Her aunt, uncle, and the farmhands think she's just talking about her dream. There's a lot more trouble than her wanting more responsibility when Mr. Bibb (Alexander) comes with his barbecue truck and tries to take their animals. Dorothy wants to help, but her aunt and uncle say she's too young and leave her behind while they try to figure out what to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out the Gale Farm isn't the only place under siege. Oz was attacked by the Nome King (Alexander), who wants to use the magic of the Ruby Slippers to take back the emeralds from the Emerald City. The Scarecrow (Gough), Tin Woodsman (Rob Paulsen), and Cowardly Lion (Todd Stashwick) make their way to Kansas via a mole tunnel, but it collapses before they can return. They get the Wizard (Alaskey) to take them back via balloon instead. When he and Glinda are taken prisoner, it's up to Dorothy, her friends, and their new companions the Mouse Queen (Amy Pemberton) and the Hungry Tiger (Andrea Martin) to save Oz before the Nome King sends the entire country down to his realm.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Animation:</b> Same deal as last time. It looks like an MGM/Hanna Barbara short of the 1940's and early 50's. The Nome King and his people are drawn a bit more modern and cartoonishly compared to them, though. The Winged Monkeys have wide, evil grins that bring the Tom & Jerry and Dr. Seuss cartoons directed by Chuck Jones to mind. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> This is more like it. Tom and Jerry do better when they have a story that fits them, not just one they're randomly inserted into. There's some creative gags and delightfully energetic music here, including "The Jitterbug," a song that was notoriously cut from the original <i>Wizard of Oz</i> film. Alexander has an absolute ball as the obnoxious barbecue owner and the Nome King, while James Monroe Iglehart is a riot as Calvin Carney at the Kansas State Fair and the Jitterbug. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We start off once again with "Over the Rainbow" as Dorothy wishes someone would believe her about Oz. "There's No Place Like Home" turns up twice, for Dorothy and the farm hands in the beginning as they admit the farm took a licking in the tornado, and near the end by Dorothy as she wishes to go back. We also hear "Off to See the Wizard" again, this time as Dorothy and her Oz friends head to the Kansas State Fair to find the Wizard. Calvin Carney happily claims the fair is "A Mighty Fine Affair" as he touts its many delights. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Nome King's men immediately go into "All Hail" whenever he's in their sights. His big villain song is "What's Mine Is Mine" as he explains why he wants the Ruby Slippers and the Emerald City. The Lion and the Hungry Tiger share "Oh My, Oh My, Oh My" as they argue over who is the better ruler of the jungle. "The Jitterbug" sends everyone into dancing frenzies whenever he flies over them. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia: </b>Dedicated to Joe Alaskey, who died during production. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first (and to date, only) Tom and Jerry movie to be a sequel to a previous film.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> First of all, I kind of wish it actually adapted the books, instead of choosing random characters and creating a plot around them. The books flesh out a lot more about the Mouse Queen and the Nome King and many others. Second, the animation suits the time period but isn't that great, and while Griffith does better this time around, she still isn't going to make anyone forget Judy Garland. Andrea Martin's Hungry Tiger doesn't really do much besides argue with the Cowardly Lion. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you're a fan of the Oz books or Tom & Jerry, or you must see one of Tom and Jerry's crossovers, make it this one. It's worth seeing for the decent music and performances alone. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Also easily found, often for under $10. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Jerry-Back-Paul-Dini/dp/B01E6ET1TQ">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Jerry-Back-2-Film-Collection/dp/B01M4LDWRK/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZT9WNMEDHVZK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ttqoahkt0_s-WA69y1GHIvPJ-C9TKAv5a0dhFLBTXb7Udh_yMMYxI1baVIOecNhT01rwLdL4yON3IdHJ36d8fXHxC8vHp_vJeJk_5b9xPDtvDPCE27Z2r-MxindJGTF3RqIgTLolcBtrCqAmXmZERPqmRhaTb32jPbf5no50ZsliQi11oZVYaOhXt2wqCnJ1uQRdryUYs7G-mKuBzV2Kxj94MzuwREYp_qBNIfDaITA.2GkbqF7tHXRVvy7JKsg0tubkG5xJO09lQN0R8vKdB5I&dib_tag=se&keywords=Tom+and+Jerry+Back+to+Oz&qid=1708818169&s=movies-tv&sprefix=tom+and+jerry+back+to+oz%2Cmovies-tv%2C136&sr=1-2">DVD - <i>Tom & Jerry: The Wizard of Oz/Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz</i></a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.e6aa6a02-ad2a-fd55-e642-0c38dfd15235?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-59083427191077892262024-02-22T22:21:00.000-08:002024-02-27T23:23:21.532-08:00Ray (2004) Universal, 2004<div>Starring Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, and Regina King</div><div>Directed by Taylor Hackford</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Ray Charles and others</div><div><br /></div><div>We move to a later jazz and R&B musician for our next review. Apparently, this film had been in the works for at least 15 years while the producer tried to secure financing, and then find a studio willing to release it. Kids who grew up in the 80's and 90's like I do probably know him best for his series of Pepsi commercials with his female backup singers and his duets with Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, and Van Morrison. I didn't know until recently that his career spanned the latter half of the 20th century, covering everything from R&B ballads to country. Is it worthy of this big-screen treatment, or should it be left on the road? Let's begin in 1946 as Charles (Foxx) grapples with a cop in Northern Florida as he tries to take a bus to St. Louis for a job and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Charles learned how to play piano at a young age while growing up in rural Northern Florida with his mother Aretha (Sharon Warren). He's still haunted by the accidental drowning of his younger brother in his mother's washtub as a child and his going blind by age 7. Even after he gets a job with a night club band in Seattle, the club's owner exploits him. He finally signs a solo record deal and tours the "Chitlin' Circuit" - a string of nightclubs owned by and designated for African-Americans. While the tour is successful, it's also where he becomes addicted to heroin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ray's life starts to look up when he lands a deal with Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong) of Atlantic Records, which releases his first hit, "Mess Around." He also falls in love with and marries pretty preachers' daughter Della Mae (Washington). Ray adds a female back-up group, which may not be a wise decision when he first has an affair with Mary Ann (Aunjanue Ellis), then a more serious one with Margie (King). He comes up with his first million-selling album after he comes up with "What'll I Say" when a show runs long.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even as he hits the big time with "Hit the Road, Jack" and "Georgia On My Mind," he tells Margie to hit the road when she admits to being pregnant with his child. Margie leaves for a solo career, and Ray gets into trouble with the state of Georgia when he refuses to play a segregated venue. After encouraging black and white dancers to mingle during a concert, his room is raided, and he's arrested for drug possession. Della's not happy when he moves her to LA, then to a huge house in Beverly Hills, and his band isn't happy when he moves to ABC Records and hires smarmy Joe Adams (Harry Lennix) as his manager. A second drug arrest lands him in rehab, where he finally finds the strength to conquer his addictions and make amends with his past.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> There's a reason Foxx earned one of the movie's two Oscars. He nails Charles, from his mannerisms to his voice and even his way of playing the piano. And yes, that is Foxx playing the piano. He apparently went to college on a classical piano scholarship and more than knew his way around the ivories. He's especially effective in the second half, as Charles battles his addictions and comes to terms with his brother's death and his dissolving relationships. The movie pulls no punches as it looks into what makes this man tick, showing us his deep addictions and how he was used and abused, and his multiple relationships with his singers, even as he remained married.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number: </b>Charles performs two hits usually associated with Nat King Cole, "Straighten Up and Fly Right" and "Route 66," early in his career before finding his own style. "We Will Walk Through the Streets of the City" is the ensemble hymn performed at the church during the funeral for Ray's brother, when his mother breaks down crying over her son's coffin. "The Midnight Hour" is another early Charles performance. He finally finds what he does best with Ertegun's jaunty "Mess Around." </div><div><br /></div><div>He's heard recording his next hits "I Got a Woman" and "Hallelujah, I Love Her So." When his concert runs short, he's stopped from leaving, which results in a quick performance of what becomes one of his biggest hits, "What Did I Say?" "Georgia On My Mind" becomes ironic considering his difficulties in that state later in the film. Margie reluctantly joins him for his other iconic song "Hit the Road, Jack," which she jumps into with a fierce relish at a performance. </div><div><br /></div><div>Later in the film, we get three of his best-known ballads, "Unchain My Heart," "You Don't Know Me," and the country number "I Can't Stop Loving You." The last-named is the performance in St. Louis that so impresses Joe Adams, he becomes his manager. "Born to Lose" and "Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)" are heard towards the end, when he's battling his addictions.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Charles did get to see a work-in-progress print of the film before his death in June 2004. </div><div><br /></div><div>The movie also won Best Sound Recording.</div><div><br /></div><div>Foxx and Regina King are dubbed by the actual recordings by Charles and Hendricks for most of the movie, with the exception of a few early numbers in the clubs. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> First of all, the movie plays fast and loose with a lot of facts about Charles' life. Yes, he was addicted to heroin from the 50's through the 70's, and while he did kick that, he continued to drink and use marijuana throughout his life. The entire incident that led him to be barred from playing in Georgia was fabricated. He did refuse to play in a segregated venue, but after a telegram from civil rights activists convinced him to do so, and he was never banned in Georgia. Margie was fired in 1964, not '61, and he would never have asked her to have an abortion. She died in 1973, but the cause was never stated. By the time "Georgia On My Mind" became Georgia's state song, Della and Charles had divorced, and she would not have been there for the announcement. </div><div><br /></div><div>Second, good as Foxx's performance is, the movie itself is cliches of the highest order. This is nothing you haven't seen in musical biographies going back to the 1930's, including the somewhat similar <i>Walk the Line</i> on Johnny Cash that came out a year later. Also, it's way too long at 2 1/2 hours. Some of the slower middle section that gets bogged down in Charles' relationship problems could have been trimmed a bit. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> See this one for the terrific numbers and Foxx's amazing Oscar-winning performance if you're a fan of Foxx, Charles, or soul and R&B music.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on all formats, often for under $10.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Jamie-Foxx/dp/B000FVQLRU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VT0I82F5TQA9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.T58ovPDd3PawyhKJM1snNJ8rvjdabl4j5ndxo_8VXYQN-RZeNvdnUz9xKqG5Pbnj64Fw-kBUFC3Et-bPCfKdLOd92E--G8NwFZazmfm0YNN6NhzBkpYBI5KtMTiXeMh38qi-_gOIxmR0fMe3mi5Ed5TtvH_V_9oWmqpLZl1l7LzP-Jk80Za0YLBOwJcs_agU_KFWPxXnKNMlCLqLiI3wfH-ZUsetI1EIE5fnzqpU25o.W3UbLx77FIgM8N8uZ-_1yhy9dXEx1xE5Of3ir54gNGU&dib_tag=se&keywords=Ray+2004+dvd&qid=1708669080&s=movies-tv&sprefix=ray+2004+dvd%2Cmovies-tv%2C94&sr=1-1">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Blu-DVD-Blu-ray/dp/B0068FZ1GY/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.T58ovPDd3PawyhKJM1snNJ8rvjdabl4j5ndxo_8VXYQN-RZeNvdnUz9xKqG5Pbnj64Fw-kBUFC3Et-bPCfKdLOd92E--G8NwFZazmfm0YNN6NhzBkpYBI5KtMTiXeMh38qi-_gOIxmR0fMe3mi5Ed5TtvH_V_9oWmqpLZl1l7LzP-Jk80Za0YLBOwJcs_agU_KFWPxXnKNMlCLqLiI3wfH-ZUsetI1EIE5fnzqpU25o.W3UbLx77FIgM8N8uZ-_1yhy9dXEx1xE5Of3ir54gNGU&qid=1708669080&sr=1-1">Blu-Ray</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Jamie-Foxx/dp/B001NMLMAQ">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-47653508186055358722024-02-20T22:47:00.000-08:002024-02-27T23:16:24.623-08:00Hi-De-Ho (1947)All-American Entertainment, 1947<div>Starring Cab Calloway, Ida James, Jeni Le Gon, and William Campbell</div><div>Directed by Josh Binney</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Cab Calloway and others</div><div><br /></div><div>Cab Calloway's career went back to the late 20's, when he got started playing at night clubs and cafes in Chicago. His band eventually moved to New York in 1929, where they were a hit in Harlem show spots like the Savoy Ballroom and the Cotton Club. Calloway became the first African-American to have his own radio show, and one of the first to lend his voice to cartoons. He appeared in small roles in movies like <i>The Singing Kid</i> with Al Jolson and larger ones in short subjects with his name on the title. He even released a dictionary of "jive" in three versions. By 1947, however, his gambling and bad financial decisions had caught up with him, which is likely the reason for his starring in this smaller independent B musical. Is it worthy of "Minnie the Moocher," or should it be left standing at the club? Let's begin with Calloway (himself) and his girl Minnie (Le Gon) and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Minnie is furious when Calloway hires Nellie (James), a female manager, to help him get his band going. Nellie's doing good things for him, including getting him and his eight-man band booked into a brand new club. Minnie would rather he focused on her and spent a lot less time with his very pretty manager. She goes to local gangster Boss Mason (George Wiltshire) and his hit man Mo the Mouse (James Dunmore) to eliminate Cab, while she tries to head off Nellie. As it turns out, Minnie is wrong about Cab and his feelings for Nellie, but she may be too late to fend off Mo before tragedy strikes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Calloway's ongoing financial problems don't prevent him from really getting into his numbers here. He even had a hand in most of the songs. Wiltshire and Dunmore are the only ones who get near him as the menacing "fixer" and his ice-cold hired killer. I also give them credit for going a little darker than usual for these "race" musicals. I did not expect the hit man subplot or the tragic twist near the end of the film. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number: </b>"Minnie was a Hepcat," supposedly his song for Minnie, is played at least three times during the film, including in the night club after Calloway and his orchestra get the job there and for Minnie after tragedy strikes. Calloway really romps through the more dramatic "St. James Infirmary" and "At Dawn Time." "Hey Now" is his first number with his expanded orchestra. </div><div><br /></div><div>He opens the big finale with his hit "Hi-De-Ho Man," then joins singer Elton Hill to sing about how "I Got a Gal Named Nellie." Dusty Fletcher gets "Open the Door, Richard." The ample and ample-voiced Peeters Sisters sing "Little Old Lady From Baltimore." One then dances with one of the male dancers while singing about "A Rainy Sunday" before finally shoving him off the set! We also get some decent tap routines by The Miller Brothers and Lois done on top of blocks and stands in front of the orchestra.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>Calloway's music may be terrific, but he's no great shakes as an actor. His reaction to that dark twist is too hammy for words. Most of the cast isn't even at that level. The ladies are especially stiff, with Le Gon wavering between waxy and shrill and James fading into the woodwork. The music is the only reason to see this. The costumes aren't bad, with some decent suits for the guys and James and gowns for Le Gon, but the sets are obviously B-movie level. While the copy currently at Tubi is slightly better than what they have for <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2021/02/boarding-house-blues.html">Boarding House Blues</a>, </i>it's still not great. Wish someone would take a crack at preserving these bits of black cinema history.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I wish the movie had ended with Calloway holding Minnie. The montage of his success and big happy finale directly afterwards rings false after the violence and darkness earlier. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you like Calloway or the "race" films of the 1930's and 40's, you'll want to give this a try for the musical numbers alone. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> It's in the public domain, so it's easy to find anywhere. It's currently free with commercials on Amazon Prime and Tubi.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hi-Film-Detective-Restored-Version/dp/B01BN1BVS4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DK61XU3PCYUX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8qn_ymn0KXzEcaIQhtLU5TRi46ioADWPF2iY9sgFTtj9FG_Ajsu5IBf8seKLQ09NAP8l_uZKaa2SsGMu7SMmvSP9FQhxlkhHuEusg7B-b4GzbRXcU5nIrxtLidoeGKtsytKSNN_w0j6C7tVU1T9eMo7cDUt5IipFwTXnPk70QuJTjz8vdrO-uF5VxXkNRd7BLexhO4GL4AuHxu4Eoe_Q1tNY19JgpRpsRln2AkGAbJ8.yrKhjd4Ptxln9-OAOdvRHxTXPAnC7ANxoJvH_zE19Oo&dib_tag=se&keywords=Hi-De-Ho&qid=1708498010&s=movies-tv&sprefix=hi-de-ho%2Cmovies-tv%2C177&sr=1-1">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://tubitv.com/movies/682406/hi-de-ho?start=true&tracking=google-feed&utm_source=google-feed">Tubi</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hi-Ho-Cab-Calloway/dp/B000YFTLMO/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2DK61XU3PCYUX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8qn_ymn0KXzEcaIQhtLU5TRi46ioADWPF2iY9sgFTtj9FG_Ajsu5IBf8seKLQ09NAP8l_uZKaa2SsGMu7SMmvSP9FQhxlkhHuEusg7B-b4GzbRXcU5nIrxtLidoeGKtsytKSNN_w0j6C7tVU1T9eMo7cDUt5IipFwTXnPk70QuJTjz8vdrO-uF5VxXkNRd7BLexhO4GL4AuHxu4Eoe_Q1tNY19JgpRpsRln2AkGAbJ8.yrKhjd4Ptxln9-OAOdvRHxTXPAnC7ANxoJvH_zE19Oo&dib_tag=se&keywords=Hi-De-Ho&qid=1708497950&s=movies-tv&sprefix=hi-de-ho%2Cmovies-tv%2C177&sr=1-2">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-23625677136715256142024-02-17T23:03:00.000-08:002024-02-24T15:47:27.201-08:00Animation Celebration Saturday - Tom & Jerry and The Wizard of OzWarner Bros, 2011<div>Voices of Grey DeLisle, Joe Alasky, Spike Brandt, and Rob Paulsen</div><div>Directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div><i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2023/12/animation-celebration-extra-tom-and.html">Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</a></i> was far from the first franchise Warners dumped Tom and Jerry into. They appeared in six direct-to-home-media "movies" before this, including the previous crossover <i>Meet Sherlock Holmes</i>. That one went over well enough for them to try inserting the cat-and-mouse duo into one of the most famous musicals of all time. Does it work out better than their visit to Willy Wonka's domain did, or should it have a house dropped on it? Let's begin in Kansas, where a certain cat and mouse (Brandt) chase each other while Dorothy Gale (DeLisle) laments that no one listens to her, and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story: </b>Tom and Jerry are shocked as anyone to be caught up in a Kansas twister. Also along for the ride are Dorothy and her dog Toto, who land in Oz ahead of them. The cat and mouse duo first encounter Munchkin mouse Tuffy (Kathy Soucie) when they arrive. He leads them down the Yellow Brick Road to find Dorothy and her new friends the Scarecrow (Michael Gough), the Tin Woodsman (Paulsen), and the Cowardly Lion (Todd Stashwick). On the way, they steal the wand of the Wicked Witch of the West (Larraine Newman), incurring her wrath. No one is happy when the Wizard (Alasky) sends them to capture the witch, least of all Tom and Jerry! They'll have to work together to save Dorothy and figure out who the Wizard really is.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Animation: </b>At least someone did their homework. This is made to resemble the Hanna Barbara and Tex Avery shorts of the 1940's and 50's. Dorothy looks like a younger Red Hot Riding Hood, while Tom, Jerry, and Winkie Guard Droopy closely resemble their versions from the late 40's-early 50's. It's obviously cheap and it doesn't move very well, but at least it's colorful and relatively suits the characters.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> I will say that Tom and Jerry work slightly better in Oz than they did in Willy Wonka's domain. Oz is already a fantasy world filled with flying monkeys and talking lions. They're also integrated slightly better, notably helping the others figure out how to get rid of the Wicked Witch of the West. (In fact, Tuffy comes up with a great idea to scare off the Winkie guards that I wish they used in the original film!) The colorful animation suits Oz, the characters, and the time period this was set in well. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> Even Tom and Jerry (briefly) stop their antics long enough to watch Dorothy sing "Over the Rainbow," though Tom can't resist trying to eat some of the bluebirds who gather to listen. A frustrated Tuffy sings "If I Only Had the Height" in Munchkin Land, since he's too small to be considered a full munchkin. "We're Off to See the Wizard" is heard twice, when Tuffy, Tom, and Jerry head off to find the others, and after they've caught up with them near the Emerald City. We get the ensemble number "Merry Old Land of Oz" when they've all arrived in the Emerald City. The original "If I Only Had a Brain/Heart/Nerve" is heard over the end credits, along with "Off to See the Wizard." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> Tom and Jerry do fit in a little better...but that doesn't mean this should have happened in the first place. You don't really get to see much of Dorothy and her friends, or hear the original score. Often, what you do get is a rehash of the much-better live-action movie. DeLisle tries hard, but she's no Judy Garland, and Gough isn't Ray Bolger, either. Newman's Wicked Witch is an improvement, but she still lacks Margaret Hamilton's menace. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> Tom and Jerry's trip to Oz isn't great, but it's still a lot sweeter than their venture into Road Dahl turf. Fun for kids who are Tom and Jerry and/or Oz fans. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found in all formats. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Jerry-Wizard-Grey-DeLisle/dp/B004ZENT78">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Jerry-Wizard-Oz-Blu-ray/dp/B004ZENT1E/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Blu-Ray</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jerry-Wizard-Grey-DeLisle-Griffin/dp/B00540BCY4/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-58715393892217396612024-02-15T22:12:00.000-08:002024-02-15T22:12:35.619-08:00A Hard Day's NightUnited Artists, 1964<div>Starring The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr), Wilfred Brambell, Norman Rossington, and John Junkin</div><div>Directed by Richard Lester</div><div>Music and Lyrics by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison</div><div><br /></div><div>We stay in England, but jump back a few decades to honor the 60th anniversary of the Beatles making their first appearance on<i> The Ed Sullivan Show</i>. The Beatles' phenomenal success couldn't be contained within mere live performances. United Artists was thrilled to get them, but they weren't interested in the movie itself. They thought the soundtrack would make a lot more money. </div><div><br /></div><div>As it turned out, they were both gold mines. The film was shot in sixteen weeks for less than $500,000 and would make three times that. It proved to be a landmark in film musicals and continues to be influential to this day. Does it deserve that praise, or should it be mobbed by the crowd? Let's begin with the Beatles (themselves) barely evading a platoon of screaming fans at a train station and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story: </b>On the train to London, they're joined by Paul's grandfather John (Brambell), who, despite the guys insisting he's a "clean" old man, is constantly making trouble. He first sets their manager Norm (Rossington) and road manager Shake (Junkin) against each other, then gets into a gambling club using an invitation sent to Ringo while the Beatles sneak off to a party. A comment from Grandfather also rattles the director of the TV show they're supposed to be appearing in (Victor Spinetti). Ringo ends up being assigned to keep an eye on Grandfather, but the wily old man insists Ringo go and see life instead. This just lands Ringo and Grandfather in jail. The Beatles have to get them out quickly, just in time for their big TV performance to go on.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> The quick-cut, cinema verite style still looks darn good to this day. All four of the Beatles shine in a very funny script that was deservedly nominated for Best Screenplay. John has my favorite scenes, goofing off in the bath and with comedienne fan Anna Quayle at the TV studios. George gets the single best line in the film when a reporter asks him about his haircut, along with the sequence where he's cornered by a group who thinks he's an actor and want him to be in a commercial. Ringo gets the most dramatic sequences during his afternoon on the town, including his attempt to help a lady over a hole.</div><div><br /></div><div>The real-life filming gives us London in all it's swinging 60's glory. That's a real train station the Beatles arrive at, with real screaming fans. Ringo has drinks in a real pub, and the quartet romp in an actual playing field. It gives you a real "you are there" feeling and adds to the intimacy that makes it feel like you really are eavesdropping on these four successful and very funny rock stars. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with the title song and one of the most famous chords of all time as the Beatles' fans chase them across Marleybone Station. "I Should Have Known Better" is their number on the train as we see them interact with their fans. "All My Loving," "I Wanna Be Your Man," and George's "Don't Bother Me" are heard briefly at the party. </div><div><br /></div><div>"If I Fell" is John's number at the TV studio when they do their first rehearsal. The first version of "Can't Buy Me Love" has the quartet jumping and running around on that playing field as a crane follows their puppyish movements. "And I Love Her" and "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" bring them back to the TV studio. "Ringo's Theme (This Boy)" is a montage of Ringo wandering around London, dodging a tire rolled by a child and trying to help a lady across puddles by putting down his coat. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Can't Buy Me Love" pops up again as the background for half the cops in London chasing the Beatles back to the TV studio after they manage to break Ringo out of prison. The boys finally get to their smashing TV performances of "Tell Me Why" and "She Loves You," along with reprises of "Should Have Known Better" and "If I Fell." The movie ends with a reprise of the title song as they head off in a helicopter and toss Grandpa's final attempt to profit off their fame - photos with forged signatures - to their fans below. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Three songs, "I'll Cry Instead," "You Can't Do That," and "I Call Your Name," were cut from the final film. "Cry Instead" was used in a 1982 prologue that was supposed to honor John Lennon. It was removed during the film's restoration in 2000. </div><div><br /></div><div>Brambell was best known at that point as the title character of the BBC sitcom <i>Steptoe and Son</i>, who was often referred to as a "dirty old man." That's why they constantly call him a "clean old man" in the film. (And yes,<i> Steptoe and Son</i> would later be remade in the US as the even-more-successful <i>Sanford and Son</i>.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Oddly, the group's name is never referred to in the film.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film's jump cuts and cross-cutting would later inspire everything from <i>The Monkees </i>TV show to MTV music videos to commercials. </div><div><br /></div><div>The title was apparently inspired by an off-the-cuff comment of Ringo's. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> Once again, story is not the film's main concern. If you want to learn more about the real Beatles. you'd be better off looking for one of the many documentaries released on them. This movie is strictly to capture how it was during the early days of Beatlemania. Paul seems to be slightly underused compared to the other three. He mainly seems to be there to scold his grandfather. And it probably does help to be a fan of theirs to understand their personalities and why they're so popular. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> Honestly, if you want to know what the Beatles were about and why they were so huge in the mid-60's, this and the film's soundtrack album are probably the best places to start. Great way to learn more about the film styles of the swinging mid-60's, too. Highly recommended, especially for Beatles and British Invasion fans. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on streaming and on disc, the latter from The Criterion Collection.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Days-Night-Criterion-Collection/dp/B00J2PQYYK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8LLR0YBDX66A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6YwRVnLe4EAmcbOdVarhkmIsvQyN6mAgXS-hp5PQHxMbpqNlgkdNFNeVNC6XmQ04qn_LbCVCKkQE6kR1M1JMT9NwYHJTtRLp8t6FOezZjkSWybe9cw-QCoW2LDMdsy7PoZEPj0ab3PtjzmQIAzyBciXm1O882z70TBJMUVw6hw5emCgU9HcPmU6ymniL1bXkrK8Yer0M9sz-_mOS7Cr014FP3UJ6nkQTQ1GpvihZCfI.0B_qID--iXHHrnChO14LpPSF0zu5KDObz8Dci4tf97U&dib_tag=se&keywords=A+Hard+Day%27s+Night&qid=1708063860&s=movies-tv&sprefix=a+hard+day%27s+night%2Cmovies-tv%2C134&sr=1-1">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Days-Night-Criterion-Collection/dp/B09T75SLSS/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6YwRVnLe4EAmcbOdVarhkmIsvQyN6mAgXS-hp5PQHxMbpqNlgkdNFNeVNC6XmQ04qn_LbCVCKkQE6kR1M1JMT9NwYHJTtRLp8t6FOezZjkSWybe9cw-QCoW2LDMdsy7PoZEPj0ab3PtjzmQIAzyBciXm1O882z70TBJMUVw6hw5emCgU9HcPmU6ymniL1bXkrK8Yer0M9sz-_mOS7Cr014FP3UJ6nkQTQ1GpvihZCfI.0B_qID--iXHHrnChO14LpPSF0zu5KDObz8Dci4tf97U&qid=1708063860&sr=1-1">Blu-Ray</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Days-Night-Criterion-Collection/dp/B09JLFXDY2/ref=tmm_frk_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6YwRVnLe4EAmcbOdVarhkmIsvQyN6mAgXS-hp5PQHxMbpqNlgkdNFNeVNC6XmQ04qn_LbCVCKkQE6kR1M1JMT9NwYHJTtRLp8t6FOezZjkSWybe9cw-QCoW2LDMdsy7PoZEPj0ab3PtjzmQIAzyBciXm1O882z70TBJMUVw6hw5emCgU9HcPmU6ymniL1bXkrK8Yer0M9sz-_mOS7Cr014FP3UJ6nkQTQ1GpvihZCfI.0B_qID--iXHHrnChO14LpPSF0zu5KDObz8Dci4tf97U&qid=1708063860&sr=1-1">4K</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Days-Night-John-Lennon/dp/B00KHL1SLM">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-61790442416851631312024-02-13T21:55:00.000-08:002024-02-13T21:55:43.011-08:00Happy Valentine's Day! - Been So LongNetflix, 2018<div>Starring Michaela Coel, Arinze Kene, George MacKay, and Joe Dempsie</div><div>Directed by Tinge Krishnan</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Arthur Darvill</div><div><br /></div><div>We celebrate the most romantic of all holidays with one of the sweetest recent musicals. This one was based on a 1998 play and apparently debuted in a West End fringe house in 2009. Netflix bought the US rights when it debuted in its single-biggest acquisition of an English movie at that point. Were they right to spend all that money on this, or should it be dumped in a bar? Let's start at a festival in Camden Town, London, as single mother Simone (Coel) navigates through the eager crowds with her wheelchair-bound daughter Mandy (Mya Lewis) and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Simone is a hard worker who rarely has time for meals, let alone going out with her friend Yvonne (Ronke Adekoluejo). Yvonne finally talks her into a night out on the town, which she eventually spends playing checkers with handsome and mysterious Raymond (Kene). Raymond has his own problems. He's on parole from prison and is being stalked by the insane knife-wielding Gil (MacKay). Simone, meanwhile, is still smarting from her divorce with Kestrel (Dempsie), Mandy's father, and is afraid to open her heart again. It'll take Gil openly attacking Raymond and seeing their friends come together for the duo to finally understand the healing power of relationships.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> This is such a sweet movie. Kene and Coel walk away with the movie as the lovers trying to navigate the dating waters again, and both have gorgeous voices to boot. Adekoluejo is a hoot as Simone's party-loving girlfriend Yvonne who gets the ball started by taking her out and encourages her romance, and MacKay is a genuinely scary Gil. Beautiful location shooting in the real London adds to the feeling of intimacy. It's almost more like looking in on people's lives than a typical musical. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with Kene performing "Love Is" as Simone wanders through a local fair with Mandy, pulling her away from sweets and ignoring all the dancers and merriment around her. "What U Sayin'" is Yvonne's big rap number as she talks Simone into going out with her. She sings "I Want a Fella" while at the bar. Raymond gets "Primus Humanus (Man of Steel)" after he meets Simone. Gil's "Smile" is a more terrifying look at why he's after Raymond. "Thunder and Gold" and "Fire" are duets for Raymond and Simone before and after their meeting on the bench in the park. "Closing Time" is the big finale as everyone, including the back up singers seen in numbers throughout the film, meet in the bar again...except Simone and Raymond, who are content to quietly walk off in each other's arms. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> If you're looking for a stronger plot or a darker take on romance, you won't get that here. This is just a sweet, simple series of love stories. It comes off more like a BBC soap opera than a movie at times. To be honest, not a whole lot happens besides the musical numbers until Gil attacks Raymond near the end. It's slow-moving and can be wordy, especially in the second half when the romances get more melodramatic.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale: </b>This charming romance is one of the better musical offerings currently on Netflix. Give it a whirl this Valentine's Day or when you feel the need for a little love in your life.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> It's a Netflix exclusive at the moment. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80211622?source=35">Netflix</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-89575009510388568832024-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:002024-02-11T00:01:52.688-08:00Honoring Chinese New Year - Over the MoonNetflix, 2020<div>Voices of Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Robert G. Chiu, and Ken Jeong</div><div>Directed by Glen Keane</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield, and Helen Park</div><div><br /></div><div>We celebrate Chinese New Year with this lovely animated film, the third released by Netflix. This retelling of the Chinese myth of the rabbit in the moon was released during the pandemic that year, meaning it went straight to streaming with a release in a few theaters. Does the sweet tale of a teen girl who hopes to prove that the goddess of the moon is real continue to work now? Let's begin with cook Ma Ma (Ruthie Ann Miles) telling her daughter Fei Fei (Ang) the story of the moon goddess Chang'e (Soo) and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Unfortunately, Ma Ma takes ill and dies when Fei Fei is 11. By the time she's 15, her father Ba Ba (John Cho) is remarrying a woman named Mrs. Zhong (Sandra Oh). Although she's a nice lady, Fei Fei doesn't handle this well. She's especially not fond of Mrs. Zhong's annoying son Chin (Chiu) who insists he can run through walls and his pet frog. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fei Fei creates a rocket that'll take her to the moon so she can prove Chang'e is real. To her consternation, Chin sneaks along. Beautiful Chang 'e is obsessed with returning to her true love Hou Yi (Conrad Ricamora), who lacked her immortality. She thinks the children came to deliver a gift that would bring her love back. Fei Fei goes to search for the gift with three "Biker Chick" Lumarians, while Chin challenges Chang'e to a ping-pong game. Fei Fei thinks she's found the gift, but the bikers take off with it. With the help of exiled Lumarian Gobi (Jeong), she and Chang'e finally learn how to heal and let go of the past.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Animation:</b> While the character animation is well done, the big thing here is Chang'e and the Lumarians' world. It's all bright neons and huge shining spires and magenta glitter. There's some amazing designs, too, especially on animals like the giant frogs and dog who bites into the moon. Chang'e's elegant and colorful costumes were created by Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei, and they certainly look like haute couture, from the sparkly layer dress she wears at her concert to the dramatic red number with the enormous collar seen on the poster.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> This charming and sweet film may have been especially important when it debuted, given how many people lost loved ones in 2020. You really feel Ang's heartbreak over her mother, especially early in the film when she's trying to deny that her father has moved on. Soo also does well as the fickle goddess who is heartbroken over her lost love one minute, charming to her people the next. Chui and Jeoung get a few good moments as the goofy little brother who basically thinks he has superpowers and the exiled Lumarian who believes in the good change can do.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with "On the Moon Above" that gives us the story of Chang'e and how much Fei Fei adored her mother. They sing about making "Mooncakes" for the big Moon Festival, even as Ma Ma is dying. Fei Fei hopes her "Rocket to the Moon" will take her to Chang'e, so she can prove she's real. Chang'e appears in a huge concert, complete with back up Lumenettes dancers, insisting that she's "Ultraluminary." </div><div><br /></div><div>"Hey Boy" pits Chin against Chang'e in a ping pong game that leaves him wondering if he's in over his head. Gobi tells Fei Fei how he thinks their ride on giant frogs - and the ability to change and move on - are "Wonderful." Hou Yi briefly joins his wife for "Yours Forever" in the beautiful forest of her memories. Chang'e and Fei Fei break out of depression by admitting that it's not so bad to "Love Someone New."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> Ok, so the story is a tad cliched. It starts off coming-of-age and veers more into sci-fi action territory on the moon. Critics complained that this had a little too much Disney in it, with its huge castle and princess-like goddess, likely the result of director Keane being a former Disney animator. Once they get on the moon, the mood goes from contemplative to annoyingly frantic, not helped by all the padding with the unnecessary ping pong game and Gobi's antics. The ending is sweet, but getting there is more tooth-itchingly sticky. Not to mention, a good chunk of the voice cast is actually Korean rather than Chinese, and a lot of the music apes the Korean pop that's so huge right now. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> Despite the strange and sometimes conventional story, this is still recommended for older elementary-schoolers and pre-teens who have any interest in Chinese culture or have lost someone recently.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> This is a Netflix exclusive at the moment. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80214236?source=35">Netflix</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-91447275060183124812024-02-08T22:29:00.000-08:002024-02-08T22:29:43.270-08:00Krush GrooveWarner Bros, 1985<div>Starring Blair Underwood, Sheila E, Joseph Simmons (Run D.M.C), and the Fat Boys</div><div>Directed by Michael Schultz</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>Our second look at early rap culture has a lot of things in common in <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/beat-street.html">Beat Street</a></i>. It was also set in the Bronx, is very much a capsule of its era, and gives a rare look at several R&B and rap artists who don't often turn up in films. This one, however, is based on the true story of how rap label Def Jam Recordings got started. Def Jam began in 1983 as a haven for rap, hip hop, and R&B and really helped bring a new type of music into the public eye. How does the fictional story of its origins look today? Let's begin at Krush Groove's studio with Run D.M.C recording their latest hit and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Russell Walker (Underwood) has signed all the hottest hip hop and R&B acts in the Bronx, including the Fat Boys and Run D.M.C, featuring his brother Run (Rev Run). Desperate to press more albums and get their latest hit to the public, he borrows money from street hustler Jay B. (Richard Gant). He also falls for feisty rapper and drummer Sheila B. (herself), but Run does, too. Russell has to figure out how to date her without hurting his brother's feelings, then where to get that money when Jay B. comes calling and wants it yesterday...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance: </b>Obviously, story is not this movie's strong point. It's also not that heavily into the breakdancing that was a big part of <i>Beat Street</i>. This one is all about the music, performed by some of the most popular acts from Def Jam's roster. There's some genuinely good songs here, some of which became hits in their own right. </div><div><br /></div><div>Underwood made his debut as the charming and driven Walker. He's the backbone of the film, whether he's trying to get the albums out, hire more acts, or adorably falling for Sheila. At the very least, this makes a lot more sense than Schultz' previous attempt at an all-star rock musical, the ridiculously bizarre <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2019/11/cult-flops-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts.html">Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band</a>. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open in the studio with Run D.M.C recording "King of Rock." Their music and Krush Groove Records spread throughout the Bronx, encouraging groups to breakdance and leave their jobs to try their own songs at the studio, ending with Run D.M.C doing the number at a concert. After being sent to the principal for rapping in class, the Fat Boys gets their whole school moving with the infectious "Don't You Dog Me" on the stairs. </div><div><br /></div><div>We're introduced to Sheila B. in a club with her hit "A Love Bizarre" (which she sang with Prince in its original version). She's having such a great time strutting her stuff, it's no wonder both Walkers fall hard for her. Sheila proves to the guys that she can do whatever the boys can do in her "I'm Sheila E" at the Walker's home. Kurtis Blow picks things up at a rap concert with "If I Ruled the World" in top-hat, a very 80's tux, and with dancers in elaborate 20's-style costumes. Sheila blows the audience away with her driving "Holly Rock" before Run D.M.C finally get onstage to claim "their house" with "It's Like That." </div><div><br /></div><div>Nayobe performs part of her R&B hit "Please Don't Go" at Krush Groove Studios, and even what little we see is good enough for them to sign her. LL Cool J shows off part of his early song "I Can't Live Without My Radio." New Edition was huge at the time, as was their R&B number "My Secret," done at the talent show in flashy glittering suits. The Fat Boys finally get in long enough for their second number, "Pump It Up - Let's Get Funky." They also eat every bit of food in a Sbarro's when they see an "All You Can Eat" sign in the film's strangest and most music video-like number. </div><div><br /></div><div>We get Run D.M.C's "Can You Rock It Like This?" before teenager Chad launches into a rollicking cover of "I Want You to Be My Girl" at the second talent show. The "Fat Boys" end up winning it all with their self-titled number. "Tender Love" appropriately covers Sheila and Blair's big sex scene. The movie ends with all of the bands performing "Krush Groovin'" at a benefit dinner to earn the money Russell needs. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Film debuts of Blair Underwood and LL Cool J. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> Like I mentioned above, plot is not this movie's strong point. It has very little to do with the actual beginnings of Def Jam Records, which continues today as a rap and R&B imprint of Universal Music. Real owner Russell Simmons was related to Run DMC member Rev Run (Joseph Simmons), but neither had a relationship with Sheila B. Simmons was upset that the writers took so much of the focus off the romantic triangle and Walker's financial struggles and onto the antics of the Fat Boys, and...yeah, he does have a point. The movie lurches from hard-hitting drama with Simmons trying to earn the money to soft-focus romance to the Fat Boys' antics with very little rhyme or reason. The dialogue is negligible, the acting from everyone besides Underwood is worse. These rap artists were terrific singers, but they weren't really actors. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> That said, this and<i> Beat Street </i>are still important movies for a lot of reasons, not the least being two looks at rap's beginnings. Despite the confusing tone and so-so acting, this is still highly recommended for fans of early rap or black cinema from the 1980's. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> It's currently on DVD via the Warner Archive Collection. It's also easily found on streaming, often for free.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Krush-Groove-Sheila/dp/B01LTHNNG0/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://tubitv.com/movies/715273/krush-groove?start=true&tracking=google-feed&utm_source=google-feed">Tubi</a></div><div><a href="https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/8c0268d118075107bef46561acae8528?source=google">The Roku Channel </a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-29591292529096316852024-02-06T23:52:00.000-08:002024-02-06T23:52:39.435-08:00Beat StreetOrion Pictures, 1984<div>Starring Guy Davis, Jon Chardiet, Rae Dawn Chong, and Leon W. Grant</div><div>Directed by Stan Lathan</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>This week, we dive into early rap culture with two musicals from the mid-80's. By 1983, rap, hip-hop, and breakdancing were just starting to come off the streets of major cities and into dance clubs like the ones in this movie. Record companies were starting to take notice, too, as were several major movie studios who saw the success of those clubs. How well does this do in representing that new culture, seen through the lives of four young men living in the South Bronx? Let's begin on the streets with the kids and their breakdancing and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Kenny Kirkland (Davis) is a DJ and aspiring composer. His best friend Ramon Franco (Chardiet) is a graffiti artist who tags himself "Ramo," and wants nothing more than to decorate one unmarked subway car with his work. Ramon's girlfriend Carmen (Saundra Santiago) wants him to marry her and help her take care of their child. </div><div><br /></div><div>Kenny's brother Lee (Robert Taylor) is a member of one of the breakdancing gangs. He first turns up when he DJs for a party to rumble with another local breakdancing gang, then at the Bronx nightclub the Roxy. Fellow composer Tracy Carlson (Chong) is impressed with his moves and invites him to try out for TV dance show. He's rejected, and Kenny accuses Tracy of being a snob. She goes to his house to make up, and they end up falling for each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>Things begin to look up when Kenny gets a job at the Burning Spear Club, and Ramon finally gets an apartment for him and his family. Kenny's not as happy when he first catches Tracy with her professor (Duane Jones), then he accidentally erases his creation on their equipment. Ramon's having his own problems. There's an artist named Spit (Bill Anagros) who keeps defacing his work, and job interviews are keeping him from the art he loves. His attempt to make one last try at that unmarked train leads to a confrontation with Spit that ends in tragedy. Kenny, however, will never forget his friend or the lasting impression he left on his music, his family, and their community.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> This one has a lot in common with <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2023/12/saturday-night-fever.html">Saturday Night Fever</a></i>, from the New York Boroughs setting to its use of actual Bronx locations (including the real Roxy nightclub). Chardiet is by far the best thing here with his intense performance as the tough youth who sees beauty in his art where others see something damaging or criminal. Some of the dancing is genuinely amazing too, both in the breakdancing sequences and at the TV show audition Tracy wrote a song for. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number: </b>We open with "Breaker's Revenge" over a montage of Lee and his friends breakdancing in the streets of the Bronx and Ramon. "Son of Beat Street" and "Baptise the Beat" are the dance numbers at the house party. Juicy performs "Give Me All" and over the end credits "Beat Street Strut." "Santa's Rap" is Lee and two of his buddies (The Treacherous Three) singing a comic Christmas rap number as Santa and two kids complain about his gifts. Jake Homes sings the R&B ballad "Strangers In a Strange World" as Kenny takes Tracy home. "Frantic Situation" is Afrika Bamaataa's goofy jungle routine at the Burning Spear Club. "Battle Cry" is the number that gets Lee and his buddies into trouble when they're practicing a dance routine, and the cops think they're actually trying to hurt each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>The huge finale involves Davies and almost every rap group in the film dressed in the most 80's collection of tulle, sequins, chains, and vinyl saluting the life and death of Ramon with "Beat Street Breakdown." A gospel choir finishes off with "Believe."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia</b>: Filming locations included the actual Roxy (which has since been demolished), the City College of New York, and the Bronx subway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the graffitti used in the movie wasn't real, but actual graffiti artists were used as consultants. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> It has a lot of the same problems as <i>Saturday Night Fever</i> - namely, it was made to represent a certain time and place, and hasn't aged well beyond that. New York and rap culture have changed a lot in 40 years. The crazy costumes at the clubs and in the finale alone scream "New York 1984." There is some bad language (though not to the degree of <i>Fever</i>) and violence, not to mention that tragic ending. Most of the artists here probably aren't remembered by anyone but huge fans of 80's rap, too, and neither the actors, nor the plot are really all that interesting. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> If you want to learn more about early rap culture or rap in New York in the 80's or are a fan of the rap and R&B musicals of the mid-80's, this one is worth checking out for some of the numbers alone.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media: </b>Easily found anywhere; it's streaming for free on The Roku Channel and Pluto TV. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beat-Street-Robert-Taylor/dp/B018TKFQ8S/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beat-Street-Blu-ray-Robert-Taylor/dp/B018TJ0LAW/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Blu-Ray</a></div><div><a href="https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/d93923d66e6d5b0dad73ae840a9024fd?source=google">The Roku Channel </a></div><div><a href="https://pluto.tv/en/on-demand/movies/58f5713403b953e63695665e?utm_medium=textsearch&utm_source=google">Pluto TV</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-36457556139101874532024-02-03T22:28:00.000-08:002024-02-03T22:28:34.691-08:00Animation Celebration Saturday - Piglet's Big MovieDisney, 2003<div>Voices of John Fielder, Jim Cummings, Andre Stojka, and Kathie Soucie</div><div>Directed by Francis Glebas</div><div>Music and Lyrics by Carly Simon</div><div><br /></div><div>After the success of<i> <a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2022/07/animation-celebration-saturday-tigger.html">The Tigger Movie</a></i>, Disney opted to spotlight another one of Pooh's friends from the Hundred Acre Woods. Sweet little Piglet is Pooh's best friend and is relatively popular in his own right, but is it enough to carry a feature film? Let's begin with Piglet (Fielder) working on his scrapbook as his oddly dressed friends make their way past his window and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Piglet is upset when his friends don't invite him to help them get honey from a beehive. He tries to join them, but they say he's too small. Even when he's the one who traps the bees, they don't notice it. Disappointed and dejected, Piglet takes off. The others use his scrapbook of memories to find him, and in the process, remember three great adventures where Piglet helped them out...and realize how much their porcine pal means to them. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Animation:</b> Not bad for a Pooh cartoon. There's a few CGI effects that look pretty decent even now, notably those bubbles that Piglet appears in during the segment with Kanga and in the finale. The colors are soft, with more detail in the backgrounds than usual for Pooh movies. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> I suspect this is less "Piglet's Big Movie" than Disney adapting any original Pooh stories they hadn't gotten to yet. As such, it's adorable. Of the three segments, the first with how the gang met Kanga and Roo is probably my favorite, but their trip to the "North Pole" and building a house for Eeyore are really cute, too. Fielder gets to have fun showing both the small, scared and the braver sides of Piglet, and Soucie makes a lovely, warm Kanga. Simon's music is warm and lovely; I'm especially fond of the catchy "With a Few Good Friends." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with Cary Simon performing the original "Winnie the Pooh" over the credits as Piglet draws in his scrapbook and the others head off to get that honey. She reprises it in the end in what appears to be a live-action music video just before the credits with her playing guitar in a country setting. Simon also sings about what Piglet wishes he could do "If I Wasn't So Small." Kanga sings about how a "Mother's Intuition" tells her that Piglets are not Roos. She's joined by the Hundred Acre Woods crew as they go on their search for the North Pole in "Sing Ho for the Life of a Bear." </div><div><br /></div><div>Piglet and Pooh happily sing about what they do "The More It Snows" and why they love their homes. Simon reveals how "With a Few Good Friends," Piglet and the others are able to build Eeyore his own home. The others realize that "The More I Look Inside," the more they miss their porcine buddy. It's "Comforting to Know" that, even though they lost his old scrapbook, they can still make new memories with him. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>Adorable and fun as this is, it lacks the heart - and dark edges - that Disney got into <i>Tigger Movie</i>. It feels more like three episodes of<i> The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh </i>strung together by the thin framework of Piglet's scrapbook than a full-length movie. It's barely feature-length. There's also some continuity glitches with the earlier films. Kanga and Roo were already there when Tigger arrived in <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2019/09/animation-celebration-saturday-many.html">Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day</a></i>, but here, he's a member of the crew when they move in. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale:</b> Highly recommended for families with young children who are fans of Pooh and/or Piglet, or want to see a lower-key animated movie.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media: </b>The DVD is in print, but can be pricey. You may be better off streaming this one. It can be found on Disney Plus with a subscription. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Piglets-Big-Movie-John-Fiedler/dp/B00009L4S2">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/video/fb2d61b1-61a7-4c3d-9259-a5bed70782db?distributionPartner=google">Disney Plus</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-34119941317097202162024-02-01T23:39:00.000-08:002024-02-01T23:39:37.870-08:00House Party 3New Line Cinema, 1994<div>Starring Christopher "Kid" Reid, Christopher "Play" Martin, Bernie Mac, and Angela Means</div><div>Directed by Eric Meza</div><div>Music and Lyrics by various</div><div><br /></div><div>We return to the rapping world of our other pair of best buddies, Kid n' Play, to kick off Black History Month. The first two <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2023/02/house-party-1990.html">House</a> <a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2023/02/house-party-2.html">Party</a></i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2023/02/house-party-2.html"> </a>movies were some of the biggest hits of the early 90's. A third go-around was likely inevitable, but by the time this one rolled out in early 1994, the music industry had changed considerably. Rap and rock gained a harder edge in the mid-90's than the upbeat comic routines Kid n' Play favored, with the wild candy-colored prints of earlier in the decade replaced by grungy plaids, flatter hair, and less riotous colors. How does this work with the story of Kid's impending wedding and his last big bachelor party? Let's begin with Kid (Reid) dreaming about marrying his fiancee Veda (Means) and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Kid's nerves about his wedding aren't offset by having to babysit his three cousins (rap group Immature) for the weekend or deal with his senile Aunt Lucy (Ketty Lester). Meanwhile, Play is supposed to bring the female rappers Sex as a Weapon (TLC) to big-time promoter Showboat (Michael Colyar), but they bail out for another manager. He's also trying to set up Kid's bachelor party at a local ballroom, but Immature move it to Aunt Lucy's house in order to put the focus on them. Kid's old girlfriend Sydney (Tisha Campbell) is also in town, which makes Veda very jealous. When the party at the ballroom is a bust and his Uncle Vester (Mac) calls him about the wild party at his aunt's house, Kid decides that he and Play need to make one last stand, before Showboat and his hit women do any damage. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Glad to see Kid and Play have somewhat more time together here after being apart for a lot of <i>House Party 2</i>. They work best when they're playing off each other. Mac shows off the motormouth and verbal dexterity that would eventually earn him his own sitcom later in the 90's. I was a fan of TLC as a teenager, and it's great to see them here, even if they don't have that much to do. I also wish we saw more of Lester. She has some very funny moments as Aunt Lucy, who is a lot less senile than her nephews think she is. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number: </b>We open in Kid's dream with his talking about how his ladies "Bounce." Immature tries to give Play their "Wakes You Up," but he just thinks they're kids. Kid n' Play also get "Two Fingers" and "Make Noize." Hip-hop duo MOP asks "How About Some Hardcore?" while Sylk Smoov wants to "Drop Down." R.A.S Posse get to "Rock This House," while AMG delivers the closest thing this movie got to a hit, "Butt Booty Naked." To da Core perform "We Got It Goin' On" at the actual party, while Nerissa sings "The Cure" and Kid n' Play do "Void" and bring us into the "Here and Now." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Film debuts of Chris Tucker and Angela Means.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like: </b>This one shares a lot of the same problems as the previous films. First of all, after trying so hard to sign them, would it have hurt to let TLC do a number? They were hugely popular in the mid-90's. Immature lives up to their names by being as annoying for viewers as they are for the characters. It's pretty obvious David Edwards as Kid's cousin Stinky was meant to be a replacement for their friend Bial, but he's no Martin Lawrence (who had graduated to his own sitcom by this point). The movie starts slow, with not much of anything besides talk and rapping happening until Immature switch the party venue in the second half. And yeah, there's still the dated portrayal of the film's female characters and marriage in general. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale: </b>While it's generally regarded as the worst of the original three 90's <i>House Party</i> movies, it's still worth a look for fans of the series or 90's rap and R&B. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Easily found on DVD and streaming, often for under $10. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/House-Party-III-Carl-Craig/dp/0780627873">DVD</a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Film-Favorites-House-Party/dp/B002GSXKOM/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_w=eIb7B&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=NXSAAQ9S6M6DMJQMKHBP&pd_rd_wg=g0eKa&pd_rd_r=556ff42a-eb5a-481c-be87-d010db801d95&pd_rd_i=B002GSXKOM&psc=1">DVD - <i>4 Film Favorites: House Party</i></a></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/House-Party-3-Tisha-Campbell-Martin/dp/B00DXJ5LOA/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Amazon Prime</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955151480919645715.post-23691940104559163122024-01-30T20:46:00.000-08:002024-01-30T20:46:50.439-08:00Swiss MissMGM/Hal Roach, 1938<div>Starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Walter Woolf King, and Della Lind</div><div>Directed by John G. Blystone</div><div>Music by Paul Chiang; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer</div><div><br /></div><div>This week, we warm up the winter with two very different comedies featuring best buddies. By 1938, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were popular enough to star exclusively in feature-length movies. This is one of the few outright musicals they did after their switch to features. It was also their last appearance as the comic relief in an operetta, and the second-to-last Laurel & Hardy movie Roach released under his MGM contract. How does the story of two mouse trap salesmen who get caught between a feuding composer and his singer wife look now? Let's begin with Edward (Eric Blore), the fussy assistant of opera composer Victor Albert (King), as he demands that the hotel owner (Jean De Briac) give his master absolutely quiet, and find out...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Story:</b> Albert is at the hotel to write an opera that will stand on its own without his diva wife Anna (Lind) performing. Meanwhile, Stan (Laurel) and Oliver (Hardy) are mouse trap salesmen who are trying to sell their wares. After they're tricked by a cheese seller (Charles Judels) who gives them a phony cash note, they end up washing dishes when they try to spend it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anna gets a job as a maid at the same hotel, hoping to prove to her husband that she can have the common touch, too, enough for his show. She flirts with Ollie and the cook at the hotel (Adia Kuznetzoff), hoping to make Victor jealous. At the least, she does make Ollie fall in love with her. Even though the cook threatens them, they still take Anna to the big Festival in town. Anna has plans of her own...and so does the gorilla who chased them in the Alps. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Song and Dance:</b> Laurel and Hardy get some really cute gags in this one. Their attempt to push a piano across the Alps and over a precarious wooden bridge is more-or-less repeated from their Oscar-winning short "The Music Box," and it's almost as funny here. Love how Stan gets drunk, and Ollie almost ends up falling through the bridge. Blore also gets some good moments as the annoying assistant who is totally devoted to his employer's well-being. Love the sets and costumes recreating a fanciful Switzerland between the wars, with its charming chalet hotel and typical Alpine lederhosen-and-dirndl costumes. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Favorite Number:</b> We open with "Yo-Ho-Dee-O-Lay-Hee" as we're introduced to both the hotel staff and the reason Victor wants quiet. Victor's inspired by the sound of a cricket chirping in his room to write the sprightly "The Cricket Song." Anna finishes the song when she arrives, to Victor's annoyance. Stan and Ollie explain in "The Mouse Trap Song" why the cheese shop owner needs mouse traps in his establishment. "I Can't Get Over the Alps" is King and Blore's comic number with the locals as they reveal why they can't switch hotel rooms. Ollie croons an adorable "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to serenade Anna under her bedroom window while Stan accompanies him on the tuba. Anna (who makes a much better brunette than she does a blonde) poses as a gypsy while singing the firey "Could You Say No?" and shaking her tambourine to all the handsome men.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two of the movie's best numbers are instrumental comic pieces. Frustrated over the destruction of his piano, Victor practices his music on the hotel organ, which Ollie has just washed. As he plays his song, animated bubbles bobble over to Stan and Ollie; when they pop them, the notes blare out. The chorus get a big native Swiss dance routine in the square under Victor's balcony during the Festival, culminating in a local man (Franz Hug) doing some damn amazing flag twirling. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Trivia:</b> Hug demonstrated his prowess during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Charles Gamora, who played the gorilla, also played an ape in the Laurel and Hardy short "The Chimp." </div><div><br /></div><div>This would be the most expensive Laurel and Hardy film, budgeted at twice as much as their shorts. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I Don't Like:</b> I really feel sorry for Ollie in particular. Neither Anna nor Victor were the most pleasant people; she used both men and the cook in the end, and never got punished for her rather obnoxious behavior. No wonder her husband wanted to get away from her. He was no saint, either. All he did the entire movie was whine about how he wanted peace and quiet - in a summer resort in the Alps? The music he tried so hard to write is negligible, and in the case of "I Want to Get Over the Alps," kind of dumb. (And I know a Laurel and Hardy movie is the wrong place for logic, but...what in the heck is a gorilla doing in the Swiss Alps?)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Big Finale: </b>Not one of Laurel and Hardy's best features. Enjoyable enough for their fans, but newcomers and casual viewers looking for better musicals featuring the duo will want to start with <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2018/11/family-fun-saturday-march-of-wooden.html">March of the Toy Soldiers</a></i> or <i><a href="https://musicaldreamsreviews.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-bohemian-girl.html">The Bohemian Girl</a></i> first. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home Media:</b> Not currently on DVD in the US, but it can be found on streaming, including for free at Flex and YouTube.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://watch.plex.tv/show/laurel-and-hardy/season/14/episode/1?autoplay=1&utm_content=5d9c10102df347001e400b36&utm_medium=deeplink&utm_source=google-catalog">Flex</a></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wafdo_ub6k4">YouTube</a></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00881701433093870040noreply@blogger.com0