Honoring Chinese New Year - Step Up: Year of the Dance (Step Up China)

Yuehua Entertainment/Lionsgate Films, 2019

Starring SuperDino, Meiqui Meng, Bobo, and Kim Sung-joo

Directed by Ron Yuan

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's head to modern-day China to celebrate the Year of the Horse and one of the most internationally popular musical franchises. The original Step Up debuted in 2006. It wasn't popular with critics who found its class war story to be too formulaic, but the incredible dancing made it a hit with teens and young adults who loved the moves and the rebellious characters. It was such a success, it led to four more unrelated Step Up movies that were all hits in their own right and a TV show that lasted for three seasons. 

One of the reasons it continued to do well was its enormous popularity in international markets, especially Asia. Even when the fifth film, Step Up: All In, didn't do well in North America, it still made money elsewhere. China took notice and made a Step Up film exclusively for their country in 2019. It came over here as a streaming exclusive in 2020. Is it as good as the other titles in this franchise, or should it be left on the streets? Let's begin with a young Chinese man (SuperDino) right before a big dance battle and find out...

The Story: Tie Hou (SuperDino) landed in prison after a bar brawl two years before, right as he was about to tell his crush Xiao Fe (Meng) he loved her. He's able to reunite with his old dance group the Iron Crew, but she hasn't forgiven him. Wealthy young He Chaun (Bobo) is trying to audition for a major international dance competition with the Black Tigers, but fellow dancer Dai (Sun-joo) kicks Chaun off the stage and injures him. They both get the trophies, but Dai isn't happy when it turns out the judges were paid off. 

Meanwhile, Tie Hou has tried to get a job working with everyone from strippers to kids, but his tougher style of street dance doesn't work with poles or children's classes. He even dances when he works at a construction site. Chaun sees him and tries to get him to join his new dance crew. Hou refuses at first, until he sees Chaun's elegant dance battle with the Black Tigers that even works the cane in. Fe is impressed and flirts with him. She's out of place at Chaun's birthday party, until she shows up the snobs there with a few great dance moves of her own.

Chaun has started a dance team of his own, Sky Crew. Even with Chaun pushing them hard to practice everywhere, they still lose in their first dance battle with the Black Tigers. They come up with the idea of filming their combination dance and Kung Fu moves. That gets them the dance battle invitation, but it also gets them recognized. Hou loses his best friend Tie She when the gang he fought in the bar tries to get him back. Now they really have a reason to beat the Black Tigers, and then take on the American team the Phantoms.

The Song and Dance: And the dance, along with some decent cinematography that makes the best of this film's low-budget origins, is the lone saving grace here. It really is exceptional. Director Yuan was normally a stunt man and martial artist, so he at least had the right instinct about how to shoot the choreography, both for the fight scenes and the dance scenes. Some of the dance scenes, especially the dance battles, are excitingly choreographed and not badly edited for something this cheap. I also appreciate that there's no hard feelings at the end. None of the dance teams indulge in bad sportsmanship or put down the others. Even the Phantoms, who were built up as the villains, bow for their fellow competitors. 

The Numbers: We open with Tie Hou, Tie She, and Xiao Fe doing their own robot moves at the bar before the gang war breaks out. Tie Hou has his solo number as he interprets the fight through dance. There's a chorus routine at a club when he gets out that includes some pretty sweet breakdancing. Hou tries to explain his feelings to Fe during their robot dance duet to "Honey Honey." They even dance with metal poles that he uses to play drums on trash cans at one point. The Black Tiger's slick number in white suits is going great, until Dai gives Chaun that fatal kick.

Next up is our first montage, as Tie Hou first tries to teach dance to strippers, then fan dancers, then children. None of them are there to learn the street dancing he favors. He even dances briefly at a construction site. Tie Hou starts dancing at an outdoor ring, until the same toughs who attacked him at the bar make nasty prison jokes. Chaun out-dances them even with a cane. Fe gets her big solo at the party when some of the snottier girls call her a "street bum," and she dances to show what a street bum can do. Chaun joins her, to the consternation of Tie Hou. Chaun and Hou have a stiff-kneeded dance off to rap music later that night at the party. 

The Sky Crew start off briefly "dance battling" each other before Chaun reminds them that they have their own unique style. The next montage shows the Sky Crew training everywhere - even over a grill and while bench-pressing a fire extinguisher. They're still arguing during rehearsals, until they realize that they do better when they come together as a team. The next montage shows different dance groups - even a black group and an all-kid team - competing at a club. When the Black Tigers are the winners, the Sky Crew film their moves - dance and Kung-Fu - and post them online. The Phantoms rise to the occasion at the competition with their genuinely excellent hip-hop dance. The Black Tigers are more athletic, often dancing on their knees. The Sky Crew start out with traditional Chinese music before getting into their own rap dance.

What I Don't Like: First of all, the dubbing on the copy of this at Tubi is lousy. Lips don't match, voices often don't sound like they belong to the characters. Second, whether this franchise takes place in Baltimore or Beijing, the cliches are the same. There's a reason the Step Up films (this one included) were never popular with critics. No amount of terrific dancing can cover the fact that the story is the same overcoming the odds parable we've seen hundreds of times. Admittedly, Tie Hou having been in prison and his difficulty finding jobs does give it a slightly more realistic edge, but Tie She's death is played for melodrama, and the class war drama isn't nearly as exciting as the movie wants to think it is. There's also this being a low-budget film. It does show at times, especially in the dull sets.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the other Step Up films or of Asian musical cinema, this is worth checking out once for the dance routines alone.

Home Media: Streaming only in North America. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials. 

Tubi

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Miles Ahead

Sony Pictures Classics (Columbia), 2015

Starring Don Cheadle, Ewan MacGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Michael Stuhlbarg

Directed by Don Cheadle

Music by Miles Davis and others

We jump ahead from the 1910's to the 1970's, and from ragtime to a very modern form of jazz. Miles Davis was one of the major jazz greats of the mid-20th century, a tempestuous giant whose experiments in cool jazz and be-bop from the late 50's through the early 80's revolutionized jazz and music in general, pushing the boundaries of what jazz could be and do. He was also said to have been notoriously difficult, his life plagued with drug and alcohol addiction and physical illnesses. His addictions led him to drop out of music entirely between 1975 and 1980. In fact, let's begin in 1979, as he was preparing to make a comeback, and find out just how hard that was for him to start over again...

The Story: Davis (Cheadle) is living alone, painting and dealing with debilitating hip pain, when a young Scottish reporter named Dave Braden (MacGregor) forces his way into his home to get an interview. Instead, he ends up following Davis as he pursues tapes of his most recent compositions stolen by local thugs. As he and Braden pursue the thieves, Davis recalls the creations of his most famous compositions, and his troubled relationship with his first wife, dancer Frances Taylor (Corinealdi). She was his muse and his inspiration in the late 50's and 60's, but their marriage ended with her fleeing for her own safety in 1968. 

The Song and Dance: Cheadle directed and wrote this project along with starring in it, claiming no one else could do it better. Maybe he was right. He's an electric Davis, capturing the musician's early spirit and drive, even as he dove head-first into his own addictions. MacGregor almost matches him as the Rolling Stones reporter who is determined to get a story at all cost, even breaking the law or pushing his way into Davis' house. The music is so fabulous, the soundtrack won Grammy. We get Davis' compositions in all their raw, eclectic glory, from the title song to "So What?" to "Prelude Pt. 2."

The Numbers: In fact, we open with "Prelude No. 2" from the live album Agartha, the last album Davis made before his self-imposed exile. Among those we see him working on are "Duran," "So What," "Frelon Brun," the title song, "Back Seat Betty," "Seven Steps to Heaven," "Gone," "Blue In Green," "Black Satin," "Sanctuary," "Teo, "He Loved Him Madly," "East of Rockford," and "Solea."

What I Don't Like: First of all, this is all fictional. While Davis really did take time off between 1975 and 1980 and really did make a comeback in 1981, Dave Braden was created as someone Davis could argue with and drag around to find the tapes - and the story with the tapes going missing was created to add drama. Second, this is for adult jazz fans only. This is rated R for a reason. There's tons of heavy swearing, fisticuffs, abuse, and drug and alcohol use. Start the kids on Davis' best-known albums first. It's also pretty obviously a low-budget indie movie, with cheap sets and costumes. No one besides MacGregor and Cheadle remotely register, especially Corinealdi in a thankless love interest role. There's also all the jumping around. The editing is confusing, and the movie isn't always clear where we're going or what time period or part of Davis' life we're in.

The Big Finale: If you're an adult fan of Davis or jazz like me, you'll want to check out this exploration of something that might have happened during one of the most difficult periods of his life. 

Home Media: Easily found on all major formats. Can currently be found for free on Pluto TV with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Pluto TV On Demand

Footloose (2011)

Paramount, 2011

Starring Kevin Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, and Andie MacDowell

Directed by Craig Brewer

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's move down south for an altogether more dynamic remake. The success of the 1998 stage version of the popular 1984 film sparked talk of a movie remake. Brewer came on 2010 after Kenny Ortega dropped out. Zac Efron was originally supposed to play the lead, but when he left, Wormald stepped in. Hough, a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars, was making her big-screen debut here. How well do they all handle the story of a grieving teenager who proves to a small town that dancing is no crime? Let's begin with the event that sparked the restrictive law, the death of Bobby Moore, the son of Reverend Shaw Moore (Quaid) and his friends in a car crash on the bridge, and find out...

The Story: The reverend is so beside himself with grief, he convinces the town council to pass several rigid laws concerning their teenage children, including one banning unsupervised dancing within city limits. Ren McCormack (Wormald) is also grieving when he arrives in town from Boston three years later. He's living with his Aunt Lulu (Kim Dickens) and Uncle Wes (Ray MacKinnon) and their little girls after the death of his mother, but he's having a hard time fitting in. Though he does make friends with goofy Willard (Miles Teller) and falls for Moore's rebellious daughter Ariel (Hough), most of the town sees him as a troublemaker. When he and the other teens insist on holding a real senior prom, Reverend Moore continues to insist that dancing and rock will lead to no good. It takes a talking-to from his daughter and wife Vi (MacDowell) to show him how his protectiveness may be causing more harm than good. 

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, I give them credit for getting people who can actually dance this time. No need to put in a substitute for Wormald in his big blow-off-steam solo "Catch Hell." He was a back-up dancer for Justin Timberlake (who recommended him) and certainly knows what he's doing. He's even from Boston in real-life, with the accent to match. Quaid's the other stand-out as the rigid reverend who hasn't gotten over the loss of his son and thinks it's the dancing and music that lead to his demise. As in the first film, gorgeous cinematography, this time in and around rural Georgia and the Atlanta suburbs, helps ground this old-fashioned story in the here and now. Some terrific choreography too, especially in the scene when Ren takes Willard, Ariel, and Ariel's friend Rusty (Ziah Colon) to a cowboy bar and when the kids finally get their prom in the finale.

The Numbers: We open with the title song as we see Bobby and his friends dancing and partying...and realize that it was likely drinking, not dancing, that was one of the major causes of the accident. "Where the River Goes" covers Ren's arrival in Bomont and his stroll across the town, checking out the sellers at a local fair before he ends up at his aunt and uncle's house. Ren's got the "Walkin' Blues" when he's fixing up the old Volkswagen to be his car. "Bang Your Head" provides the backdrop at the local speedway, where Ariel's boyfriend Chuck (Patrick John Fluger) is a driver. "Holding Out for a Hero" is now a slow ballad as Ren remembers his late, beloved mother while working on the Volkswagen. "Dance the Night Away" is the big chorus number at the drive-in, where Ren gets all of the kids dancing to the dance-rap tune 

Fed up with being accused of being a troublemaker when he's really just grieving and out of place, Ren takes out his anger in the dynamic "Catch Hell" solo dance routine at the garage. "So Sorry Mama" is the second big chorus routine, the country line dance at the cowboy bar where Ren finally teaches the nervous Willard how to dance. Willard finally gets into the spirit of the thing with the big line dance "Fake I.D." It's Ren's little girl cousins and their friends who finally teach the football players to dance with the help of their Barbie speaker and the original "Let's Hear It for the Boy." This turns into the teens printing out flyers and drumming up support for their fight against Bomont's city council.

"Little Lovin'" provides the backdrop for all of the teens and their families cleaning up the cotton mill for the big dance. (The cool chandelier the kids make from metal tubing, old glass bottles, and light bulbs shows how well they've really, really been paying attention in shop class.) As in the original film, "Almost Paradise" covers Ren and Ariel's entrance and the football team spreading out to find dance partners. The movie ends with country star Blake Shelton turning the title number into a foot-stomping country anthem in a delightfully riotous dance routine for the teens.

Trivia: The stage version of Footloose opened on Broadway in 1998. Despite mixed reviews that complained about the dated story, it ran for two years. The London mounting in 2006 only managed five months. It was briefly revived in London in 2017 and turns up occasionally in regional stagings. 

What I Don't Like: The good cast can't the fact that the story hasn't dated well in either version. This was annoyingly melodramatic in 1984, let alone the 21st century. Despite the dusty rural Georgia setting, this also lacks some of the Midwestern grit that attached itself to the 1984 film. Wormald has the opposite problem from Kevin Bacon in the original. He's a sensational dancer who needs no double, but doesn't have Bacon's charisma. 

The Big Finale: Honestly, same deal as with the 1984 version. It's still too melodramatic for my taste, but if you liked the original or the dance-oriented movies of the 2000's-early 2010's, you'll want to dance on over and hear it for the boys.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Paramount Plus currently has it and the original with a subscription. 

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Blu-Ray

Paramount Plus

Family Fun Saturday - Standing Ovation

Rocky Mountain Pictures, 2010

Starring Kayla Jackson, Alanna Palumbo, Joei DiCarlo, and Pilar Martin

Directed by Stewart Rafill

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's hit the Jersey Shore this holiday weekend with this independent backstage tale. High School Musical was pretty much the template for all teen and tween musicals made from 2006 well into the 2010's, and this one was no exception. Apparently, despite Rocky Mountain Pictures hyping it to the skies in 2010, it was a huge flop with critics and audiences. Now that it's easily available on several streaming platforms, how does this tale of big hopes and bigger dreams come off today? Let's begin at a local contest for pre-teen dance groups and find out...

The Story: The Five Ovations are a talented song and dance pre-teen girl group in Atlantic City. They keep getting sabotaged by the Wiggies, a group of spoiled rich girls who specialize in outrageous wigs supplied by the wealthy father (Sal Dupree) of Ziggy Wiggs (London Clarke). Brittany O'Brian (Kayla Jackson) lives on the boardwalk above a 99 cent store with her Irish grandfather (P. Brendan Mulvey) and her musician songwriter brother Mark (Austin Powell). She's desperate to find the father who abandoned her and her mother. Her family is broke; her grandfather keeps using their money to play the horses.

Major network CDS announces a huge music video contest for pre-teen groups. After the Wiggies take over the school gym to rehearse, the Ovations convince Eric Bateman (William McKenna) to loan them his father's recording studio. They do make the video, but Ziggy and Mark sabotage it. Unfortunately, their "sabotage" turns it into a comedy and makes it popular with the audience at CDS. 

The Wiggies do make it to the finals. So do the Ovations, once someone else drops out. They recruit local dancers to help with their big number. Alanna Wannabe (Palumbo), a young girl who desperately wants to be a star, gets in on it, too. She and her father made a video, but it didn't make it to the finals. Meanwhile, tough girl Joei Battaluci (Joei DiCarlo), the Ovations' manager, uses her tough-guy attitude and menagerie of biting animals she keeps in her purse to help Brittany find out what happened to her father and find out who stole money from Joei's father.

The Song and Dance: This was cuter than I thought it would be from the low-budget pedigree. The numbers have real energy, the dancing isn't bad, and some of the comedy lands. DiCarlo steals the show as the hilariously tough kid who can talk herself into and out of anything and has an army of venomous critters at her disposal to back her up. As someone who has lived in Southern New Jersey all her life, I appreciate the filming in and around the Atlantic City area, including the boardwalks in Atlantic City, Cape May, Ocean City, and Wildwood. 

The Numbers: We actually open with a group performing a nervy "Thing 4 U" in 40's threads...before Mr. Wiggs turns off the lights and ruins their number. The Wiggies' first number is the too-sexy-for-their-ages "Blush" in pink wigs. The Ovations attempt "Bounce," but Ziggy paid a stagehand to put pepper on Brittany's microphone and make her sneeze. The Wiggies' rehearsal number is "That Boy," a song Mark was working on (to Brittany's disgust). They film the number on the Ocean City boardwalk, but Mr. Wiggs makes it clear that Alanna is not invited to join them.

Brittany performs a stirring "God Bless America" on a rain-soaked Atlantic City boardwalk, but she and Joei end up confronting a jerk who steals the money she made. Rap group Dacav5 performs "The Runaway" and "The Music Is Dropping You" as the Wiggies shimmy in a nightclub that, once again, is way too old for kids who can't be more than 13 or 14. The Ovations demonstrate different forms of dancing across the 20th and 21st century at an old folks' home in "Crazy Feet." "All I Want To Do Is Sing" provides the backdrop for Joei telling Brittany she has a line on the thief who stole her dad's money. 

The Ovations' first attempt at a music video is the late 60's themed Beach Party spoof "River Deep, Mountain High." While they try to figure out something more modern, Mr. Wiggs and the Wiggies perform "Soup to Nuts" dressed in their idea of upper-crust outfits at a local diner. The Ovations get stuck doing a commercial for a really awful brand of soda, singing "Shake It and Make It"...but they just can't drink that nasty stuff, no matter how much the director wants them to. They finally end up filming "Scream" at the Wildwood boardwalk, including a rap battle with local boys. Alanna's music video is "Go After Your Dream," complete with dancing firemen and her dancing with a moving teddy bear. "Superstars" is the Wiggies' self-aggrandizing video in glittery dresses with scads of dancers. 

Mr. Wiggs and the Wiggies perform "Under the Boardwalk" and "Splish Splash" in rather ridiculous mid-60's-style wigs and dresses at their big show. They look so silly, it's almost a relief when the Ovations let fleas loose in their wigs. A genuinely good gospel group performs "Our Song Begins Again" at the music video finals in New York. The Wiggies' "Dancing Girl" is actually rather bland for their energetic performance of it. Alanna and her dancer cousins from Florida join the Ovations for the vastly more unique space opera-themed "Shooting Star." The movie concludes over the end credits with "Turn It Up," a reprise of "All I Want to Do Is Sing," and the title song. 

What I Don't Like: As funny as this can be, in other ways, it's the ultimate in teen cliches. Even the names on a lot of the characters are painfully obvious. Who on Earth calls a teen music group the Wiggies? There's Alanna Wannabe the wannabe singing star, too. Some of the acting is stiff as a board. The ending is not only a complete wish-fulfillment deux ex machina, but it goes on for at least 15 minutes too long. Ending with the contest and maybe briefly letting Brittany meet her father would have sufficed, instead of drawing it out and having him be the solution to everyone's problems. For all their energy, the original songs are bland and unmemorable. 

The Big Finale: Most critics were really harsh on this one when it came out, but I'll give it a pass for the high-energy numbers, some hilarious bits, and just because not many movies were filmed and set in South Jersey. If you have pre-teen girls looking for background noise at a girl's day in or slumber party this holiday weekend, they can do far worse than this bit of showstopping lunacy.

Home Media: The DVD is currently expensive, but you can find this streaming for free with commercials just about anywhere online, including Tubi and Pluto TV.

DVD

Tubi

Pluto TV On Demand

Cult Flops - Cats (2019)

Universal, 2019

Starring Francesca Hayward, Judi Dench, Idris Alba, and Jennifer Hudson

Directed by Tom Hooper

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by T.S Elliot and Taylor Swift

Cats is another musical from the last 40 years that had a long road to the big screen. It had been a smash everywhere it played since its debut on the West End in 1981. Steven Spielburg had originally planned on turning it into an animated film in the early 90's, but then his studio Amblinmaion shut down. A taping of the stage show in London did make it to home media in the late 90's and received excellent reviews, but most people thought that was the closest Cats would ever get to the big screen...until 2013, when Andrew Lloyd Webber started talking about a film adaptation. The movie finally debuted in December 2019 to some of the worst reviews and box-office for a major film that year. Does it deserve that fate, or should this Jellicle Cat get another chance to ascend the Heavinside Layer? Let's begin on the streets of London with the arrival of something the cat let out of the bag, a scared white kitten named Victoria (Hayward), and find out...

The Story: Victoria was abandoned on the streets of London just in time for the Jellicle Cats to have their Jellicle Ball. This is where they decide which cat will ascend to the Heavinside Layer and be granted a new life. Victoria meets all the competitors - Jennyanydots (Rebel Wilson), a domestic tabby who can make mice and cockroaches dance, Rum Tum Tugger (Jason Derulo), known for his extravagance, Skimbleshanks (Steven MacRae), a ginger cat who works for the railroad, Gus (Ian McKellen), a kindly old cat who had once played major roles onstage, and Busterphous Jones (James Corden), a plump tuxedo cat who shares his food with the others. 

Each one vanishes before Victoria's eyes, to her horror and that of Old Deuteonomy (Judi Dench), the head cat who will decide which will make the ascension. Macavity (Alba) wants to be the one chosen, and he'll do anything to get that new life, including eliminate the competition. Meanwhile, at the ball, Victoria befriends Grizabella the Glamour Cat (Hudson), who had once been aligned with Macavity. When Macavity takes off with Old Deuteonomy, it's Victoria who suggests that magician cat Mr. Mistoffelees (Laurie Robinson) use his magic to retrieve her. It works, inspiring the other cats to rescue themselves. Old Deuteonomy doesn't need a song and dance to know which cat is truly worthy of the Heavinside Layer, and Victoria to know where she truly belongs.

The Song and Dance: While yeah, this is not a great movie, or even a decent one, a few good things do manage to sneak in. Swift and Webber's "Beautiful Ghosts" is a genuinely touching song that sounds gorgeous on Hayward. Swift, rather surprisingly, isn't too horrible as Macavity's current flame Bombilina, Dench gives Old Deuteonomy tremendous gravity under her thick fur, and Alba makes a perfectly slick and greedy Macavity. 

The Numbers: We open with Victoria's entrance to the first chorus number, which introduces us to "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats." Mr. Mistofflees and Munkustrap (Robbie Fairchild) introduce "The Naming of Cats" and give "The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball." Munkustrap takes Victoria into a typical London home to introduce "Jennyanydots: The Old Gumbie Cat" and her dancing mice and cockroaches. She in turn introduces "The Rum Tum Tugger." Victoria stops several young cats from abusing "Grizabella the Glamour Cat," and befriends the exiled former animal star. Rum Tum Tugger takes Victoria to meet "Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town" and his huge appetite. Victoria gets into major trouble - and almost gets attacked by a dog - thanks to the mischievous cat burglar twins "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer." 

"Growltiger's Last Stand" gives us the nasty old pirate cat who watches the kidnapped competitors for Macavity. Munkustrap brings Victoria to meet "Old Deuteonomy," who begins "The Jellicle Ball." Grizabella tells Victoria about her "Memory" of better times, while Victoria admits that all she has are "Beautiful Ghosts." Old Deutoeonomy talks about "The Moments of Happiness" and introduces "Gus the Theater Cat." Munkustrap takes us for a ride with "Skimbleshanks: the Railway Cat." Bombalurina (Swift) performs a lurid number about her current lover "Macavity: The Mystery Cat." Victoria and Munkustrap encourage "Mr. Mistofflees" to use his magic and free the missing cats. After everyone has been returned, Grizabella and Victoria reprise "Memory," while Victoria and Old Deutoenonomy reprise "Beautiful Ghosts." The movie finishes with "The Journey to the Heavinside Layer" and Old Deutoenonomy describing "The Ad-Dressing of Cats."

Trivia: Cats ran from 1981 through 2002 in London and 1982 through 2000 in New York. It had brief limited-run revivals in 2014 in London and 2016 in New York and saw a stripped-down off-Broadway production in 2024. The off-Broadway production is currently said to be moving to Broadway in April 2026. It also occasionally turns up in regional stages for theaters with a large amount of dancers or who are looking for a surefire audience pleaser.

What I Don't Like: The idea of humans dressed as cats and dancing in giant sets made to look like the back alleys and bourgeois homes of London is far more believable onstage, where you can feel the intimacy of all those people dancing almost literally around you, than it is on film. If they had to adapt it to film at all, they should have stuck to animation. Even with the revised special effects put out after the ones in the first version of the movie were said to be terrible, this still looks ridiculous. It's more like dancing AI animal paintings than human-sized cats moving around gracefully. 

Hayward dances beautifully and does do well by "Beautiful Ghosts," but she otherwise spends most of the movie looking scared or blank. Most of the cast, including Rebel Wilson as the languid Jennyanydots and lively Robinson as Mistofflees, are defeated by their silly dance numbers, the almost spooky uncanny valley CGI, or just not being onscreen for very long. The movie shares a problem with the Broadway show in that there's so many cats who do so much, none of them are on the screen for very long. You don't get to know the ones like Bombalurina or Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer you'd like to know better. Hudson's far too bombastic as Grizabella and certainly doesn't suggest an aging glamour cat. 

The Big Finale: I'm going to be honest and admit that, though I have the original cast album, I've never been a fan of the stage Cats, either. "Memory" aside, it all just seemed too silly and way too much. This certainly won't change my mind. Unless you're a really huge fan of Swift, Webber, or any of the stars involved, you can look for "Beautiful Ghosts" online and abandon the rest of this one on the streets of London without another thought.

Home Media: Easily found everywhere, including on disc (often for under $10) and on Netflix and Amazon Prime with subscriptions.

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Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Netflix

Cult Flops - Burlesque (2010)

Sony/Columbia, 2010

Starring Christine Aguilera, Cher, Eric Dane, and Stanley Tucci

Directed by Steven Antin

Music and Lyrics by various

Evidently, some important lessons were not learned from the failure of Glitter. Director/writer Steve Antin created this one back in 2002 after seeing Aguilera and other artists perform at the Roxy Theater nightclub in Hollywood. He fashioned this story for her, and later for Cher, after she decided this would likely be her last chance to sing in a major musical. Though it was better-received at the time than Glitter and didn't suffer from that film's production problems or universal pans, it wasn't a huge hit with critics or audiences, either. Why didn't it work? Let's begin as Alice "Ali" Rose (Aguilera) takes money from her abusive boss and heads to Los Angeles and find out...

The Story: Ali has dreamed of dancing professionally ever since she lost her mother at age 7. She has little success, until she stops in a burlesque club owned by singer Tess Scali (Cher) and flirts with the bartender Jack Miller (Cam Gigandet). He suggests she audition, but Tess isn't willing to give her the time of day, until she notices their waitress shortage and grabs a tray to help out. Ali eventually joins the chorus after one of the dancers reveals she's pregnant, then gets the star roles when lead dancer Nikki (Kristen Bell) is too drunk to go on. The jealous Nikki turns off the music they usually lip sync to, but Ali just sings in her own voice.

Despite Ali becoming the talk of the town, Tess is in serious financial trouble. Her ex-husband Vince (Peter Gallagher) wants to sell to developer Marcus Gerber (Dane), who wants to build an office tower. He claims he only owns the "air rights" over the club. Ali has been having her own problems. She was living with Jack while his fiancee Natalie (Dianna Agron) was doing a play in New York, but leaves when Natalie catches them in bed together. She ends up with Marcus, only to discover he has a lot more in mind for the burlesque theater than making use of its "air rights." She and Tess have to reveal the truth to the developer across the street (James Brolin) in order to save the theater and the song and dance they both love so much.

The Song and Dance: The song and dance...and some surprisingly strong performances...are the key here. Unlike weepy Carey, Aguilera is obviously having a blast. She's not the greatest actress by any means, but she manages to hold her own against the magnetic Cher and Tucci and even does decently in the dramatic scenes. Cher's even more fun as the older businesswoman who sees Ali as her last chance for fame and to save the club she loves. Tucci's hilarious as her gay partner, and Alan Cummings gets a few good lines as a dancer at the club. The brief, glittery costumes and the theater itself are just as important characters as the actual humans, especially as Ali rises to fame in the first half. The spangles, beads, and feather fans evoke the naughty world of the older Gypsy Rose Lee burlesques of the 30's and 40's, but the music and attitudes are decidedly modern.

The Numbers: We open with Ali's dream at the club and "Something's Got a Hold On Me." "My Drag" is the first of our chorus numbers. Cher performs "Welcome to Burlesque" after we get our first chorus number. "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" starts out with leather and studs as Nikki sings along to Marilyn Monroe's recording...but it turns into Ali's big number, complete with her own vocals. Nikki sings "Long John Blues" before she's ousted. 

Ali joins the chorus for "Nasty Naughty Boy" and auditions to the "Wagon Wheel Watusi." Madonna's "Ray of Light" is a chorus number for all of the girls. "Tough Lover" is Ali's rise to fame, while "But I'm a Good Girl" and "A Guy What Takes His Time" are 30's feather fan and barely-there-pearls stripteases. "Express" is heard near the end for Ali and the girls. Tess defiantly belts "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" when she's on the verge of losing her club. Ali laments that she's "Bound to You," then finishes the movie with the big finale to "Show Me How to Burlesque." 

What I Don't Like: It's too bad all of these glittering numbers and enjoyable performances are bound to one of the silliest and most cliched scripts I've ever seen. This story has been done endlessly since cinema found its voice in the late 20's, and Burlesque does nothing fresh or inventive with it. The whole thing with buying the air rights and Tucci's sexuality do add mild modern twists, but it's not enough to sustain a whole movie. 

There's also the problem of Gigandet's character. Jack is, frankly, a jerk, inviting one woman over while his fiancee was half-way across the country, then lying and telling Ali he was free when he wasn't. Ali does deal with it somewhat better than Billie dealt with her betrayal, but she still went back to the jerk in the end after he left his fiancee (supposedly) for good. Nikki's alcohol story is defeated by the cliches and Bell's overwrought performance. 

The Big Finale: I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, cliches and all. If you're a fan of the leading ladies or love huge, flashy musicals and are willing to overlook or ignore the heavy cliche storm, you may end up having just as much fun at Tess's burlesque theater, too.

Home Media: Thankfully, this one is also a lot easier to find. The discs often turn up for under $5, and it's everywhere on streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Rainbow Rocks

Hasbro Studios, 2014

Voices of Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, and Tabitha St. Germain

Directed by Jayson Thiessen and Ishi Rudell

Music by Daniel Ingram; Lyrics by Daniel Ingram and Megan McCarthy

Let's head to Canterlot High for this unique spin-off of the wildly popular My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. This is actually the second movie in this series, but it's the most musical. In this alternate universe, the Friendship Is Magic characters are played as Technicolor teenagers with more realistic problems whose encounters with Equestrian magic leave them changed, in more ways than one. How does this stack up against the original show? Let's begin at Canterlot High, as their Music Showcase is announced, and find out...

The Story: Sunset Shimmer (Rebecca Shoichet) is frustrated because, after being a bully controlled by Equestrian magic in the first movie, no one trusts her. Her only friends are sweet Fluttershy (Libman), stylish Rarity (St. Germain), tomboy Rainbow Dash (Ball), down-home Applejack (Ball), and energetic Pinkie Pie (Libman). Sunset is hoping to impress the three newest students, a group called The Dazzlings, by showing them around school. Not only are they not impressed, but they insist on turning the musical showcase into a Battle of the Bands. The girls are suspicious, especially after Principal Celestia (Nicole Oliver) too readily agrees to the change. Sunset Shimmer uses a magical book to write to Twilight Sparkle (Strong) for help.

Twilight does arrive, only to find that their usual magic doesn't work with the Dazzlings. She suggests writing a counter-spell into their music and joining the Battle of the Bands. Unfortunately, Twilight is neither a singer, nor a writer, and feels like a failure when she can't think of a good counter-spell. Fluttershy can't get her music heard. Rarity is upset when Applejack belittles her costumes. Rainbow Dash wants to hog the spotlight for herself, and Pinkie's worried that none of this is much fun anymore. Despite them fumbling through semi-finals, they do manage to get to he finals of the Battle of the Bands. Not only do the Dazzlings turn out to be taking their negative energy, but magician Trixie (Kathleen Barr) wants them out of the competition. It'll take help from the school's resident DJ to finally prove that the power of friendship is greater than any negative sirens.

The Animation: Pretty much the same as Friendship Is Magic, with more human-like characters. We get an equal wealth of expression. The backgrounds probably could be more detailed, but that might go along with it being Flash animation.

The Song and Dance: Unique take on Friendship Is Magic for slightly older girls. Sunset Shimmer's story as she tries to be accepted after being the villain in the previous film is the stand-out. You really do feel for her. She only wants to be friends, but people keep seeing her for what she did under the spell of Equestria magic. Ball does equally well with blunt Applejack and take-charge Rainbow Dash, while Libman is especially good as gentle Fluttershy. Kazumi Evans makes a wonderfully hissable head of the Dazzlings.

The Numbers: We open over the credits with the title song "Rainbow Rocks." The Rainbooms claim they're "Better Than Ever" as we see their first rehearsal. The Dazzlings' arrival leaves the entire school "Under My Spell." They're the ones insisting on a "Battle" with the other students. Twilight's "Bad Counter Spell" is off-key vocally and emotionally. Trixie and the Illusions have "Tricks Up My Sleeve" at the Battle of the Bands finals. Rainbow's "Awesome as I Want to Be" showcases her guitar...and pushes the others to the background. Everyone is singing "Welcome to the Show" as the Battle begins, then "Let's Have a Battle of the Bands." The Rainbooms' big finale number that finally defeats the Dazzlings is "Shine Like Rainbows."

What I Don't Like: Um...if you don't know anything about the previous film in this series or Friendship Is Magic, you're going to be seriously confused here. This basically plays on the world-building in both. Also, this is a TV production. The songs are cute but nothing special, the animation even more so. We're not getting Disney-level theatrics here. 

The Big Finale: Enjoyable enough way to pass an hour on a summer's afternoon if you're already a fan of Equestria Girls or the Friendship Is Magic series. 

Home Media: Easily found in all formats, including currently free on Tubi with commercials. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Muppets Most Wanted

Disney, 2014

Starring The Muppets, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tiny Fey

Directed by James Bobin

Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie and others

The Muppets were riding high after the enormous success of The Muppets. All of a sudden, they were back, seen everywhere from YouTube to the Disney Parks. Trouble was, they couldn't seem to hang on to that momentum. It took three years for Disney to develop another script for them, and when it came out, though it got some critical praise, it didn't do quite as well at the box office as the first film. Did it deserve that fate, or is there more to this goofy crime caper than meets the eye? Let's begin with the Muppets declaring that what we're about to see is a sequel and find out...

The Story: After their successes in The Muppets, the Muppets really don't know what to do next. Enter theatrical manager Dominic Badguy (Gervais), who convinces them to go on a world tour. Turns out he has more in mind for this than sampling the local customs and cuisine. Kermit is ambushed by Constantine, who is his exact double with a spot on his chin. Constantine glues a spot on Kermit's chin and has him arrested and sent to a prison camp in Russia. Nadya (Fey), the head of the camp, insists on him running the prison talent show.

Meanwhile, Walter, Fozzie, and Animal start to get suspicious when "Kermit" lets the Muppets do whatever act they want, turning their shows into even more chaos than usual. Not to mention, they keep playing shows next to museums that are robbed the next day. Constantine and Dominic have been using their shows to rob artworks from museums, including one that could lead them to the British Crown Jewels. Constantine has also proposed to Miss Piggy...but she's beginning to wonder if this is really her frog. Not to mention, FBI agents Sam the Eagle and Napoleon (Burrell) think the Muppets are involved with the thefts and are after them as well.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for not only going with a more original story this time, but putting more focus on the Muppets themselves. One of my biggest problems with the first movie was it focused a little too much on the humans and not enough on the Muppets. Here, though Gervais, Burrell, and especially Fey are having a lot of fun as the art thief, not-so-super spy, and devoted Russian prison guard, it's the Muppets who really take center stage. Some great costumes and cinematography, too, especially the actual shots at the real Tower of London.

The Numbers: Though we do get a bit of the previous film's "Life's a Happy Song" in the opening, this segways into the massive spoof of sequels and opening numbers in movies, appropriately titled "Let's Do a Sequel." Constantine and Dominic both claim "I'm Number One" as they relate their complicated art theft plot. We get a bit of "The Muppet Show Theme" at each stop, re-written and staged in the appropriate language. "The Big House" is Kermit's big chorus number for the talent show at the Gulag. "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo In Malibu)" is Constantine and Dominic telling the Muppets that they'll give them everything they ever wanted...for a price. 

"Macarena" is Piggy's big, outrageous Spanish number, complete with her in a lacy mantilla. "Interrogation Song" begins with Napoleon and Sam questioning the Muppets, and ends with them concluding that they're all too dumb to mastermind anything more complicated than their numbers for the show. "End of the Road" is an attempt at a big, dramatic number for the prisoners at the Gulag. It's a bit...off-putting, to say the least. Their "I Hope I Get It" is only slightly less weird. The Penguins think they have the "Moves Like Jagger." Piggy's "My Heart Will Go On" at the piano is disrupted by Constantine's sudden proposal of marriage. Piggy and the other Muppets wonder in London how "Something So Right" can feel so off. 

Kermit finally escapes the Gulag via the number "Working On the Coal Mine." The finale at the Gulag gives us a slightly re-written "Together Again" from Muppets Take Manhattan, this time with the Muppets and prisoners joining in.

What I Don't Like: Ok, this is weird even by Muppet standards. It feels like they're throwing together bits and pieces of everything from Muppets Take Manhattan to The Pink Panther and seeing if they'll stick. The new music, while not bad, isn't quite as catchy as the previous movie...and the wacky caper plot lacks the sheer heart of the relationship between Walter and his brother in the previous movie as well. Plus, see the previous movie's complaint about every Muppet project after Jim Henson's death being scrutinized for how it treats the characters.

The Big Finale: While not quite at the heights of the previous film, it's certainly far from terrible, and deserved better than it got at the box office in 2014. Fun for families, older kids, Muppet fans, and fans of the previous film. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including Disney Plus with a subscription. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Family Fun Saturday - The Muppets

Disney, 2011

Starring James Segal, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and The Muppet Performers

Directed by James Bobin

Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie

Though Disney bought the Muppets in 2004, they didn't really do much with them until Segal came to them with a script in 2008. Even then, it wasn't until 2010 that it all really came together. The Muppet Company had been trying for years to do another Muppet movie, but cute ideas like The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! never came to pass. When this came out, it was a massive hit, suddenly throwing the Muppets back into the limelight much as they are in the film. Was this renewed attention deserved, or should this show be left back in the 70's? Let's start with the close relationship between Gary (Segal) and his Muppet brother Walter (voice of Peter Lintz) through the years and find out...

The Story: Walter, a Muppet among humans, is the ultimate Muppet Show fan. Gary adores him and can't deny him anything, even bringing him along to Los Angeles with him and his girlfriend of ten years Mary (Adams) to see the Muppet Studios. While there, Walter discovers a foul plot by greedy oil man Tex Richman (Cooper) to demolish the studio and drill for oil. He, Gary, and Mary tell Kermit (Steve Whitmire) at his mansion. 

Determined to earn the 10 million needed to save the Studios, Kermit, Gary, Walter, and Mary round up the remaining Muppets...except Miss Piggy, who is busy in Paris. Even when she returns, they still need to build the theater and find a celebrity host. Walter feels inadequate around all of his talented idols...and Mary feels neglected when Gary spends more time with Walter and goes home. Even when the show goes on, thanks to celebrity callers, Richman is determined to do everything he can to keep the Muppets off the air for good. It takes a concentrated effort from Gary, Mary, and every Muppet made to show Walter that he does, indeed, have a talent...and that family is more than a theater, it's shared experiences and a place we belong.

The Song and Dance: No wonder this was such a hit in 2011. It's utterly charming and hilariously self-aware, spoofing "put on a show" musicals, long-time relationships, brotherly love, and even the Muppets themselves. Segal knew what he was doing. His Gary is an adorable goofball, only wanting to make his brother happy, and Adams is hilarious as the fiancee who is getting tired of waiting for him to put her first. Lintz's Walter is the heart of the film, so totally devoted to his beloved idols, and yet nervous about fitting in having been born in a world where he was the only Muppet. Great location shooting around LA too, especially with Disney's own El Capitan Theater standing in for the Muppet Theater, and there's the very funny retro candy-colored "Smalltown" sets in the opening.

The Numbers: We see Walter and Gary grow up together and how Walter became the Muppets' biggest fan in an opening montage to the Paul Simon song "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard." Our first original song introduces Mary and Smalltown in a massive, cheery chorus spoof of opening numbers in musicals, "Life's a Happy Song." Kermit laments the breaking up of the Muppets and admits he misses his friends in "Pictures In My Mind." Fozzie's with the Muppet imitations "The Moopets" at Reno, singing a really weird version of "Rainbow Connection." "We Built This City" gives us a montage of the Muppets, Gary, and Walter repairing the Muppet Theater while Kermit tries to get those celebrity callers. 

Poor Mary, tired of being neglected, goes out for a "Me Party" at a local diner...which turns into a two-me party as Piggy joins in for a raucous disco spoof. Richman gives us a rap spoof of the ultimate wealthy bad guy in "Let's Talk About Me." Walter contemplates growing up in two words, and which one he belongs in, in the Oscar-winning "Man or Muppet?" We open the actual show with a recreation of "The Theme from The Muppet Show." Jack Black is right that a Muppet Barbershop Quartet of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a bit...odd. Camilla and her girls cluck "Forget You" in glittery costumes. We get a far more accurate "Rainbow Connection" reprise as all of the Muppets come together in a big finale in the theater. Outside, everyone reprises "Life's a Happy Song" after they see the throngs of Muppet fans. The credits end with one of the most infamous Muppet songs, the instrumental "Mah Na Mah Na."

Trivia: Look for Mickey Rooney, who knows a little something about "put on a show" musicals, during the opening "Life's a Happy Song" number. 

After finishing the movie, the filmmakers gave Jason Segal the Muppet version of himself to keep.

Walter was apparently named for Walt Disney.

What I Don't Like: Some major fans of the Muppets (including some Muppeteers) questioned how the Muppets themselves were handled, and how the humans ended up in the spotlight. Pretty much every Muppet project since the death of Jim Henson has come under scrutiny for not being like the originals, and this is no exception. There's a few beats that seem off and a little bit of off-color humor that is a bit out-of-place, especially during the "let's get everyone together" montage.

The Big Finale: No wonder this was so popular. This mostly manages to find a way to make the Muppets look fresh, while still respecting what made us love them in the first place. Highly recommended for Muppet fans like Walter and me and those looking for a fun musical for older elementary school kids. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Family Fun Saturday - Big Time Movie

Nickelodeon, 2012

Starring Big Time Rush (Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr, and Logan Henderson), Trevor Devall, Ciara Bravo, and Challen Cates

Directed by Savage Steve Holland

Music and Lyrics by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and others

Big Time Rush was Nickelodeon's answer to the Jonas Brothers at Disney, their boy band sitcom that would appeal to the teen girls and make their boyfriends laugh. They were inspired by The Monkees, an earlier sitcom about a fictional boy band who had wacky adventures. Although I'm not sure the band ever reached the heights of the Jonases or the Monkees, the show did run for four years on Nickelodeon and seemed to be fairly well-regarded by audiences and critics. This would be their only shot at something like a movie. Is it as much fun as the Beatles movies, or should it be left behind on the tour. Let's begin with the members of Big Time Rush as spies saving the world in member Carlos Garcia's (Pena) dreams and find out...

The Story: The members of Big Time Rush are excited to be on their first world tour, starting off in London. Their manager Gustavo (Stephan Kramer Glickman) and his assistant Kelly (Tanya Chisholm) would be happier if the boys just stayed in their hotel room and did nothing before their big show in Hyde Park. That proves to be nearly impossible when they discover a strange device in Kendall's (Schmidt) backpack. 

Turns out they accidentally switched backpacks at the airport with M16 agent Simon Lane (Christopher Shyer), who was captured by the henchmen of evil airline mogul Sir Atticus Moon (Devall). Lane's daughter Penny (Emma Lahana) recruits them to find him and retrieve the Beetle, a powerful anti-gravity device.  Meanwhile, Kendall's little sister Katie (Bravo) is obsessed with princesses, to the point of convincing their mother Mrs. Knight (Cates) to date a man who calls himself the Duke of Bath (Gerald Plunkett). When Moon kidnaps Katie, Carlos realizes his dream of becoming a Beatles-singing spy is coming true...and that dream may be the key to rescuing Katie and the Beetle from Moon's diabolical plans.

The Song and Dance: I'm not normally a fan of the teen cable sitcoms of the 2000's and 2010's, but if Big Time Rush is as much fun as this film, I might have to check it out. Everyone, including the boys, throw themselves into this delightfully absurd spoof of spy capers and British brevity. Director "Savage" Steve Holland did a series of equally wacky comedies in the 80's and is definitely in tune with the material. Even Cates and Bravo have fun with their royalty-skewering subplot, and Lahana and Shyler are a riot as the actual spies. 

The Numbers: We open with Carlos' spy dream, as Big Time Rush rescues a beautiful blonde princess to the tune of "Help!" "Can't Buy Me Love" is the first chase sequence, as Big Time Rush tries to avoid Moon's men on the streets of London, only to run into Penny Lane and her van. "We Can Work It Out" has Penny sneaking them into Hyde Park for their soundcheck in some fairly absurd costumes. The boys launch themselves into a "Revolution" as they invade Moon's mansion to rescue Katie (who is the "princess") and the Beetle device. They make a big arrival at the concert in M16 helicopters to perform "A Hard Day's Night" for the adoring teen girls in the crowd. They finish with what I presume to be their own "You Want the Party," a more generic boy band pop number. 

What I Don't Like: While you don't have to be a fan of the show to enjoy this movie, it does help to be a fan of the Beatles and/or absurd rock comedies like The Monkees TV show or the Beatles' Help! to get some of the jokes and humor. It's about as in-your-face, goofy, and obvious as you can get and isn't for someone looking for a more subtle satire. Katie's attempt to shove her mother at a guy she isn't interested in just so she can be a princess can get a little grating after a while. (It's also pretty obvious this was a low-budget TV film and wasn't filmed anywhere near London. It looks like they're in generic sets that could be anywhere for most of the movie.)

The Big Finale: Nickelodeon really should dive into the musical genre more often. All of their attempts at the genre have been delights, and this one is no exception. Highly recommended for fans of spy capers or rock satire, even if they haven't seen Big Time Rush. 

Home Media: Currently on DVD with Nick's other big 2012 musical Rags and on Paramount Plus with a subscription.

DVD - Rags/Big Time Movie

Paramount Plus

I Saw the Light

Sony Pictures Classics/Sony, 2015

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, and Maddie Hasson

Directed by Marc Abraham

Music and Lyrics by Hank Williams and others

The other country music star we're looking at this week has a far more tragic history. Hank Williams was one of the most influential names in country music during the 40's and early 50's. His songs sold in the thousands, his concerts were legendary, and many of his songs continue to be recorded, revived, and analyzed to this day. His life, however...well, that was more of a mess. Let's begin with Williams' former songwriting partner and publisher Fred Rose (Bradley Whitford), who'll explain to us just how messy Williams' life got...

The Story: We begin near the end of World War II, as country radio star Hank Williams (Hiddleston) and divorcee Audrey Sheppard (Olsen) are about to get married by a justice of the peace. Audrey is a part of his act and band at first, but they get complaints that she's not as good as he is. Hank's mother Lillie (Jones) doesn't like Audrey, partially because she manages the band along with singing. 

As it turns out, Lillie has a point about the marriage. Despite them having a child, Hank Williams Jr, it's rocky from the start. Even as Williams is praised as a genius and becomes one of the biggest stars on the Grand Ol' Opry, his constantly being on the road and dealing with pain from a bad back leads to multiple affairs and heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. 

By 1952, even as he was in talks with MGM about a role in their upcoming musical Small Town Girl, his performances are beginning to suffer. Audrey divorces him; the Opry fires him due to his constantly missing shows. He gets a spark of hope when he marries 19-year-old Billie Jean Jones (Hasson), but his health has already deteriorated, to the point where his much-vaunted tour around Christmas and New Year's ends up being his last.

The Song and Dance: Hiddleston and Olsen are the main reasons to watch this tepid biography. They apparently worked hard to get the mannerisms and accents for their characters right, and it paid off. Hiddleston nails Williams, a charming, hard-working man who ultimately succumbs to his pain and demons, with Olsen nearly matching him as the wife who's had enough of his drinking and womanizing. Hiddleston does his own singing, and does it well, sounding reasonably like Williams and doing justice to several of his best-known songs.

The Numbers: We open with Hiddleston, in a simple yellow spotlight, performing one of Williams' best-known ballads over the credits, "Cold Cold Heart." He and the Saddle Spring Boys sing "Honky Tonkin'" in, appropriately, a down-home western honky-tonk bar. Audrey's "Blues Come Around" is less well-received. They do better recording "Movin' On Over" in Nashville. We see the tail end of Hank's radio show as Audrey joins them for the railroad-themed "Pan American." Williams and the Saddle Spring Boys are briefly seen recording "Lovesick Blues," which he gets to sing in full when he finally gets on the Grand Ol' Opry. 

"Santa Baby" is heard in the background at the Christmas party that Hank spends drunkenly playing with his garage door opener.Hank's introduced by another country legend, Roy Acuff, before he and the Saddle Spring Boys launch into "Hey Good Lookin'."  His second Opry number is the lively ballad "Why Don't You Love Me?" right before he meets Billie Jean for the first time. He sings "Your Cheatin' Heart" for the girl at her home. The cast of the concert Williams was supposed to be at when he died sings "I Saw the Light" in tribute. The movie ends with Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" over the credits.

What I Don't Like: Even more than Walk the Line, this is a tepid mess of cliches you've seen a million times in biographical musicals going back to the dawn of sound. The unfocused script and dull direction doesn't help there. It's also very dark. Williams' death at a young age puts this more in line with later stories of musicians who succumbed to fame like The Doors. This is not for people looking for a more uplifting or cheerful story. And frankly, the black-and-white interview sequences with Rose simply weren't necessary. They should have let Williams' story unfold naturally. 

The Big Finale: Mainly recommended for Hiddleston and Olsen's sterling performances if you're a major fan of the stars or Hank Williams. Everyone else is probably better off looking for Williams' real-life recordings instead.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Musicals On Streaming - Charming (2018)

Netflix, 2018

Voices of Demi Lovato, Wilmer Valderrama, Jim Cummings, and Nia Vardalos

Directed by Ross Venokur

Music and Lyrics by various

This was not the first time Vanguard Animation dipped into the fairy tale parody well. Their second production after their debut was Happily N' Ever After from 2006, a spoof of fairy tale conventions that was a huge flop with critics and at the box office. That movie's failure didn't stop them from returning to the fantasy well almost a decade later. This time, they've traded imitating the Shrek films for imitating Disney and their female-oriented action musicals. How does the story of a Prince Charming who can charm anyone but a certain female thief look now? Let's begin with a narrator explaining why Prince Phillipe (Valderrama) is in big trouble and find out...

The Story: Prince Phillipe was cursed with charm as a child by the wicked sorceress Nemeny Neverwish (Vardalos). He attracts every woman who sees him...until his 21st birthday, when all love will vanish from the kingdom. King Charming (Cummings) gets very fed up with his son after he's engaged to Snow White (Avril Lavigne), Cinderella (Ashley Tisdale), and Sleeping Beauty (G.E.M) and forces him to go on the Gauntlet. This terrifying quest up to Fire Mountain will show his son what it's like to be truly brave and help him decide who his true love is once and for all.

Phillipe is joined by what he thinks is his guide Lenny. Her name is really Lenore Quinonez (Lovato), a sly thief who has agreed to lead the prince up the mountain in exchange for money after she's caught robbing the princesses. Phillipe has already fallen for Lenore when she's the first woman who doesn't automatically grovel at his feet, but she's not as impressed with him. He can't do much more than be a cute guy, though he does manage to rescue her from the enormous chief of an Amazon tribe (Tara Strong). Lenore's now thinking he might be her true love, but Nemeny isn't about to let her break that curse. It'll take a "leap of faith" for the two to finally prove that there's a lot more to true love than falling for a pretty face.

The Animation: Vanguard's trademark angular designs are front and center here. That works on characters like Prince Phillipe and Leonore who are supposed to be all arms and legs. It's not so great for others. The princesses look less pretty and rounded and more like all sharp angles. Don't get me started on the dated and ridiculous designs of the Amazon tribe, though the Half-Oracle and her number do come off a bit better. There's even some nifty special effects there. 

The Song and Dance: The cast is the thing here. Lovato gives Leonore a certain strength that makes it even harder to digest when her character gets a lot interesting in the second half, after she falls for Phillipe. Tisdale, G.E.M, and Lavigne are hilarious as the three jilted fiancees, especially Lavigne as traumatized Snow White. Cummings gives the king a great deal of gravity as well. Sia also does well in her brief role as the Half-Oracle, who has by far the most memorable segment in a trippy number where she explains how Phillipe could be Leonore's true love. And as annoying as Phillipe can be, at least he's also a genuinely nice guy who really does want to do what's right for the ladies chasing him and his kingdom.

The Numbers: The movie opens with the three princesses telling us about their "Trophy Boy" in a montage depicting him being chased by every woman in the kingdom. "Not Changing" covers Leonore and her cardinal friend escaping the guards with their stolen treasure and fleeing into town. "Balladino" is the Half-Oracle's dreamy, memorably weird number as she shows Lenore who her true love is, and why it's important she find him. Lenore dreams of how "Magical" it'll be to sing and dance with Phillipe in a dream sequence right before their botched date at the inn. Leonore says she'll "Soar" after Phillipe announces what he intends to do to eliminate the curse. We briefly get "Somebody to You" over the montage of Phillipe and Leonore's wedding and honeymoon before the title song plays over the credits. 

What I Don't Like: This fairy-tale satire is about fifteen years out of date...and the badly and annoyingly stereotyped Amazon-type native tribe has been out of date for at least sixty. Lenore and the princesses are supposed to be the ones in the wrong for either submitting too quick to Phillipe's charm, or not submitting at all. Phillipe is such an idiot, though, that you end up feeling sorry for the princesses instead. They're all pretty likable, if rather shallow. I have no idea how Phillipe doesn't see through Leonore's ridiculous male disguise. She's about as male as the princesses. 

Lenore is a far more interesting character in the start, when she's more annoyed with Phillipe and how useless he is. I wish she could have resisted him a lot longer. Even later, she shouldn't have had to give up what she was for him so quickly. Phillipe isn't so much charming as he is a spoiled daddy's boy who gets by on everyone doing everything for him. He may be nice, but he's so witless and annoying, you wish Leonore would have pushed him harder into gaining a little backbone. 

The Big Finale: Vanguard's second attempt at a fairy tale spoof has all the charm of curdled wedding cake icing and is only slightly better than the awful Happily N'Ever After. Only if you're a really, really huge fan of the cast or Shrek-eque fairy tale satire.

Home Media: This is currently a Netflix exclusive. 

Netflix

Musicals on TV - Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story

TV One, 2016

Starring Teyonah Parris, Gary Dourdan, Darius McCrary, and Amari Cheatom

Directed by Christine Swanson

Music and Lyrics by Miki Howard and others

I'm going to be honest, both the subject matter and the channel that debuted this are entirely new to me. Miki Howard was an R&B diva who had her biggest hits in the 80's and early 90's. Neither her early life, nor her love life were anywhere near as glamorous. Her troubled teen years and habit of marrying men who used her as a doormat boomeranged back at her later, when she fell heavily into drug and alcohol addiction. By 2016, she was attempting a comeback and was well-remembered enough by R&B fans to be the subject of this biography. How does all of this come across on the small screen? Let's begin with sixteen-year-old Michelle "Miki" Howard (Parris) fleeing to a friend's home in 1974 and find out...

The Story: Miki had a rough life, even before her mother Josephine (Vanessa Bell Calloway) threw her out after a boy attacked her. Josephine, a gospel singer, loved her daughter but resented her stealing the spotlight at her concerts and at church. Miki just couldn't resist being in the spotlight wherever she went. She and a friend went out to a disco, which is where she first encounters Augie Johnson (Dourdan). She records a single for them, then is thrown out of her friend's house when she resents Miki getting the attention and insults her homeless status.

Augie, as it turns out, is no prize either. Though they have two children together, he cheats on her and discourages her from leaving the group. After she leaves him, she signs with Atlantic Records who is willing to let her go solo. Not only does she have a series of hit R&B singles, but she falls in love with fellow singer Gerald Levert (McCrary) who inspires some of her best and most popular work. She's a global sensation who tops the R&B chart and appears in films, but her producers want her to become a pop diva like Whitney Houston. 

Miki finally leaves Gerald for smooth-talking producer Eddie Phelps (Cheatom). She also leaves Atlantic for Giant Records when she can't work with Gerald anymore. Eddie claims he's interested in helping her raise a family, but their relationship just ends with him abusing her and trying to control her. He career spirals downwards after she almost literally throws him out. She falls into heavy drug and alcohol addiction and can barely function or take care of her children. It's not until she almost dies of a drug overdose that she goes into therapy and realizes that what she really needs is to learn to respect herself, and that her life and that of her children are worth far more than any of the fame and fortune in the world. 

The Song and Dance: Damn, if any of this is remotely the truth, I feel very sorry for Miki. The abuse here is raw, real, and scary. It's hard to watch on film, let alone in real-life. Parris nails Miki, playing her as a vulnerable woman who has been thrown around and smacked around all her life, until she literally has sense frightened into her. McCrary comes off best of the three men as the most abusive and jerk-ish of the three loves in her life. Callaway also has some good moments as the mother who pushes her daughter away when she sees the woman she's becoming. Some really gorgeous costumes too, especially in the late 80's and 90's when Howard was at the height of her fame.

The Numbers: We open with the gospel song "Somebody Loves Me" as we see a montage of how Miki fell out with her mother and was thrown out of her home. Miki records "Just Not Enough" with two other women for Augie when he invites them to his studio, but her friend doesn't appreciate her getting Augie's attention. We get a cover of "Good Morning Heartache" as Miki wanders around LA after her friend's mother throws her out. She and Augie start a family and achieve minor success as part of Side Effect in a montage to the tune of the Toto cover "Georgy Porgy." 

After she signs to Atlantic, she finally gets a hit solo single in the uptempo ballad "Come and Share My Love." "I Feel for You" takes us to the party where she meets Gerald. They duet on the romantic "That's What Love Is," which covers their relationship and her first major tour. The title song gives us her marriage to Eddie and his insistence on changing labels. "Ain't Nothin' of the World" shows her continuing success on albums and in films, even as her relationship with Eddie deteriorates. "Ain't Nobody Like You" gives us her biggest hit single and the video for it, even as she demands money from the drug-addled head of the label. The movie ends with her real-life comeback, performing a more jazz-oriented reprise of "Ain't Nobody Like You."

Trivia: This was the highest-rated movie ever on TV One, an African-American oriented cable channel. 

What I Don't Like: Note the discussion of the heavy abuse scenes up there. There's violence, drug, alcohol, and marital abuse, strong language, and Miki pulls a gun on Eddie in front of her children at one point. This is absolutely not for kids. See if you can dig up Howard's albums for them first. As mentioned, the violence level makes it hard to watch at times, especially in the middle when Eddie's all but attacking her. It's also a mess of cliches, though the grittier tone does make this a bit more original than some recent music biographies.

The Big Finale: Adult R&B and jazz fans who can deal with the violence level may find this story of abuse and redemption to be fascinating, if just for the performances.

Home Media: Not on disc at press time, but it can be found on many streaming sites for free with commercials, including Tubi and Plex.

Tubi

Plex

Animation Celebration Saturday - Leap! (Ballerina)

Entertainment One/Gaumont/The Weinstein Company, 2016

Voices of Elle Fanning, Nat Wolfe, Carly Rae Jepson, and Kate McKinnon

Directed by Eric Sumner and Eric Warin

Music and Lyrics by various

We head up north to Canada and back to Europe for our next review. This charming tale of a young girl who dreams of being a ballerina in 1880's Paris was a surprise hit when it came out, despite its low-budget origins. How worthy is this of that around-the-world release? Let's begin at an orphanage in the French countryside of the 1880's and find out...

The Story: Felicie (Fanning) dreams of being a ballerina more than anything. Her mother had been a dancer, and there's a ballerina in the music box she left her. She escapes the orphanage with her best friend Victor (Wolfe), who wants to be an inventor. They end  up in Paris, where he becomes the apprentice of Gustav Effel, the creator of the Effel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. She's taken in by Odette (Jepson), a cleaner for the Paris Opera Ballet, who stops the school's janior 

The building is owned by Regine Le Haut (McKinnon), a wealthy and ambitious woman who also runs a popular local restaurant. Her daughter Camille (Maddie Zigler) is as obnoxious and spoiled as her mother. She taunts Felicie and breaks her treasured music box. In retaliation, Felicie intercepts her invitation to the Paris Opera Ballet and joins the school. Her lack of training shows, and the dance master Merante (Terrance Scammel) disapproves of her clumsiness. 

Merante is auditioning girls for Clara in The Nutcracker and will eliminate a girl a day until he finds her. Odette, herself a former dancer, trains Odette until she can pass muster in Merante's class. Victor and Merante are impressed...until first Camille and Regine figure out what Felicite did, and then Felicite goes out on a date with handsome Rudi (Tamir Kapelian) and neglects her training for a major audition. Regine sends her back to the orphanage. Felicite, however, still loves to dance. With the help of Monsieur Lueteau (Mel Brooks), the head of the orphanage, Victor, and Camille, she returns to Paris to prove that being a dancer means more than knowing the steps. It means being passionate for your work, and loving what you do.

The Animation: The character designs sometimes look a little awkward or scary, but the backgrounds are lush and detailed. This won an Annie Award for production design, and it richly deserved it. Paris is a world of light and shadow, from the baroque details of the Paris Opera House to the shabby, crumbling, ivy-covered orphanage. The dance steps are rendered quite well, too, especially that big dance-off between Felicite and Camille near the end.

The Song and Dance: Charming follow-your-dreams tale is anchored by Fanning as the adorably feisty Felcite and Jepson as the tragic Odette, who teaches Felicite how to truly reach for her goal. Wolfe has his funny moments in the American dubbing I saw as Felicite's cute best friend who is enamored of her and the wings he's built. As mentioned, the production design is well-done, with its gorgeous Paris and country orphanage, and the dance is beautifully rendered. 

The Numbers: We open over the credits with a glimpse of the orphanage, set to "You Know It's About You" as Felicite prepares to escape and encourages Victor to join her. She watches a prima ballerina dance to "Swan Lake" on the stage of the Paris Opera House and is entranced by her grace. It also plays when she's watching Camille rehearse. Felicite is looking for her "Rainbow" when she bluffs her way into the school and tries to avoid showing how inexperienced she is. "Be Somebody" is her first class. She doesn't do great, but there's a girl who does worse and is eliminated. Rudi shows off his own skill when he does a quick series of pirouettes to "The Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker. 

Felicite becomes "Unstoppable" as Odette helps her practice and she becomes better and better. It takes "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" to do well in Merante's class and with Odette's teaching. She dances the "Shannon Reel" at the bar, swinging with such wild abandon that even Merante approves, but her attempt at the "Waltz of the Flowers" after a night out with Rudi doesn't go so well. "Suitcase" shows her training on her own at the orphanage as she regains her spirit, and Lueteau realizes how passionate she is about dancing. Camille and Felicite have a dance-off to show who is more "Confident"...and proves who has the real love for dance to the whole school. The movie ends with Jepson's "Cut to the Feeling" as Felicite finally gets the chance to dance with the ballerina she idolized in the beginning.

What I Don't Like: First of all, when was this set again? It's totally historically inaccurate for the 1880's. The Statue of Liberty wouldn't have been greenish at that point. She was still a coppery brown. Of the costumes, only some of the men's suits and Regine's green gown look anywhere near accurate for the time. Felicite's vest and shorts are more 2010 than 1880. The Nutcracker wasn't written until 1892, and it didn't become popular until the 1940's - and it doesn't include a scene where Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy dance in the snow. Even Lueteau's motorcycle wouldn't exist until 1885. 

Second, the story is a mountain of cliches that start slow and end ridiculously. Some of the big set pieces, like Lueteau chasing Victor and Felicte in the opening and the finale with Regine on the Statue of Liberty are more annoying and out-of-place than exciting. We don't find out what happened to Regine after she gets stuck in the statue's scaffolding, either, or to Camille. Regine going crazy like that makes no sense and likely only happened to give the movie a big action scene. Felicite herself is no prize, either. She's darn lucky she wasn't expelled for her attempt at identity fraud, and dream or no dream, she can be downright obnoxious at times. 

The Big Finale: For all the wonky history and general weirdness, this is still worth checking out if you or your daughter are ballet fans or are looking for an action musical for 8 to 12 year old girls. 

Home Media: Easily found on every format. The Canadian version usually turns up on disc, while the re-edited Weinstein version is free on Tubi.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Frame of Mind Entertainment, 2010

Starring Ashlee Hewitt, Sterling Knight, Thomas Calabo, and Juliette Hing-Lee

Directed by Sean and John Dunston

Music and Lyrics by various

The Cinderella Story films and their popularity with young girls inspired similar projects. One of them was this small indie film featuring two then-up-and-coming stars Knight and Hewitt. Knight was a hit in Disney Channel shows and films from the early 2010's, particularly the sitcoms Sonny With a Chance and So Random! and came with his own fans. Disney Channel hits like High School Musical series made fluffy musicals all the rage among younger kids, but does this modern fairy tale about a girl who is afraid to follow her dreams after tragedy work the way the Disney movies continue to? Let's begin with Elle (Hewitt) as she imagines our animated opening credits and find out...

The Story: Elle is an intern at her Uncle Allen's (Calabo) Spunn Records. She's mainly a go-fer for their biggest musical act, obnoxious pop stars Sensation. She's talented in her own right, but after her parents died on their way to her audition for a music school, she's too afraid to sing anymore. At least, until her favorite music star Ty Parker (Knight) turns up at Spunn, insisting on creating a record that's different from the usual shallow pop music.  Allen thinks he has the right girl to sing besides him in British internet star Kandi Kane (Kiely Williams). Elle accidentally poses as her when she dresses up and records a number of her own. 

Ty's smitten with this sincere newcomer, but it turns out that Elle is in major trouble. First of all, she recorded over Sensation's newest single. Second, Kandi and lead Sensation singer Stephanie (Katherine Bailess) have something to hide, and they're not about to be upstaged by an intern. Ty is still interested in Elle even when he learns the truth, but Kandi is not above using blackmail and petty humiliation to keep her place at the top. Elle is ready to give up her dreams, but her best friend Kit (Hing-Lee) and Andy (Shawn-Caulin Young), the goofy barista she has a crush on, dig up the dirt on Kandi and the Sensations that reveal they're anything but the high-and-mighty divas they claim to be.

The Song and Dance: Some ok performances are pretty much all to recommend for this one. Knight is one of the more charming pop princes to turn up in one of these movies, witty and supportive after Kandi and the Sensation trio cruelly make fun of Elle's crush on Ty. Hing-Lee and Young have a few cute moments in the second half when they manage to dig up the real dirt on Kandi Kane and her sudden ascent to fame. There's also a lovely scene where Adam admits that he'd admired Elle's parents and didn't just start Spunn Records for the money. And admittedly, I do give the cast a lot of credit for writing their own songs, including Hewlitt. 

The Song and Dance: We open during the animated credits as Elle explains what "My World" is like. Sensation's silly music video "Something About a Saturday" belies their popularity with cheap background graphics and out-of-step dancing. No wonder they don't end up finishing it. "Hollywood" provides the backdrop for the montage of Elle trying on Sensation's costumes. Elle is first seen "Love Is With Me Now" as a child at her birthday. She reprises the song in her white gown and a simple setting of flickering candles and acoustic guitars in the studio. "Kandi Sweet" is the song that supposedly made Kandi an online smash, but with its cheap background and obnoxious lyrics, one wonders how it became such a hit. 

Elle once again reprises "Love Is With Me Now" at Adam's party that ends with Kandi and Sensation mocking her fondness for Ty. She finally sings the number she wrote with Ty, "Fairy Tale," at the music school audition. The movie ends with "Happy Ever After" as we find out what happened to the main cast.

What I Don't Like: The movie looks and acts as cheap as those fake blue screen backgrounds in Sensation and Kandi Kane's music videos. For one thing, most of the leads either can't act, or like Hewitt and Knight, are stifled by the cliched material. It randomly throws together elements from better teen pop movies like Save the Last Dance and the Cinderella Story films in the hope that kids won't notice how annoyingly bland it all is. I'm really tired of the prince claiming he wants to find this huge new sound...only to end up performing songs that aren't all that far removed from the frothy pop stuff he was doing before. The dull music and costumes scream "bad indie movie from fifteen years ago trying desperately to be hip." 

The Big Finale: Unless your 8 to 12-aged girl is a huge fan of anyone in the cast or is looking for background noise at a slumber party, this is one Cinderella who can be easily left at the ball.

Home Media: Easily found anywhere and on every format. It can currently be found for free with ads at Tubi. 

DVD

Tubi

Get On Up: The James Brown Story

Universal, 2014

Starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Ackroyd, and Viola Davis

Directed by Tate Taylor

Music and Lyrics by James Brown and others

Our next biography is of a real-life R&B legend. James Brown's tumultuous life story was one of the inspirations for The Five Heartbeats. Unlike them, his career spanned genres and generations, from passionate ballads in the early 60's to being one of the most sampled musicians in rap songs by the early 2000's. Brown was known as "Mr. Dynamite" for a reason. 

Universal had been trying to get this off the ground since 2000, but were prevented by financial and music rights difficulties. They tried again when Brown died of pneumonia in 2006,  but finally got it going in 2012 when Mick Jagger agreed to be one of the producers and they brought on director Taylor. How well did they do with the story of the man whose dynamic performances hid a lot more heartbreak backstage? Let's begin at the ending, with Brown (Boseman) attacking his own business while stoned, and find out...

The Story: Brown (Jamarion and Jordan Scott) grew up in a shack near Augusta, Georgia with his mother Susie (Davis) and his abusive father Joe (Lennie James). His mother walked out to become a prostitute and his father joined the Army, leaving him in the care of his Aunt Honey (Octavia Spencer). His aunt runs a brothel, and he becomes fascinated with the flamboyant people who come there, and even more with the "shout" gospel music lauded to the heavens in the church she attends. He boxes briefly later, but proves to be unsuited to it.

At 17, he steals a suit and ends up in jail. He meets Bobby Byrd (Ellis) when he brings his gospel group to sing at the church. Impressed by Brown's voice, Byrd's family gets him parole, and he joins the band and moves their sound from gospel to R&B and soul. Even Little Richard (Brandon Mychal Smith) is impressed when Brown jumps onstage with his newly christened Famous Flames during one of his shows. Little Richard admonishes  him to avoid "the white devil," but Brown joins a white R&B record company and hires one of their people, Ben Brandt (Ackroyd), to be his manager. 

Brandt at first shunts the band off to the sidelines, leading them to quit. They return in 1962 when James puts in his own money to record the hugely successful Live at the Apollo album. Two years later, he upstages the Rolling Stones at the T.A.M.I Show and pays young DJs to promote his albums and avoid paying promoters. He even manages to keep the audience from rioting in Boston after Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in 1968 and, despite almost being shot down, joins the USO and plays for Vietnam troops later that year. 

His home life isn't doing so well. He divorces his first wife Velma (Jacinte Blankenship) and abuses the second Deirdre (Jill Scott). He's not thrilled when his mother tries to get back into his life, and first  his band, and then Bobby quit over his tendency to expect perfection, insist they work on days off, and hog the spotlight. It's not until he gets out of prison in 1993 that he finally mends fences with Bobby, reminding them that, no matter what life throws at them, they still need each other.

The Song and Dance: Boseman and Ellis lead a parade of powerhouse performances in this story of a searing performer driven to sing at all costs, including the cost of his relationships. Boseman may be more attractive than the young Brown, but he still nails his mannerisms and his unending energy and charisma. Ellis more than matches him as his best friend through (almost) thick and thin, who is generally happy to be off to the sidelines and let James bask in the spotlight. Ackroyd and Davis also do well as the "white devil" who proves to be more of an angel in disguise and the mother who left him behind. Love the gorgeous cinematography in many of the real locations this was set, including Paris and rural Georgia. The non-linear story that jumps between incidents from Brown's life makes this a little more creative than most standard Hollywood biographies.

The Numbers: We don't get our first number until nearly fifteen minutes in, but it's Brown's searing "Out of Sight" that steals T.A.M.I from the Rolling Stones. He dances to his signature "I Feel Good" with the band in red ski sweaters on the set of the winter Beach Party imitation Ski Party ...at least until he realizes he'd much rather be taking things up a notch over a decade later. That "shout" preacher almost literally throws himself into "No More, My Lawd" at an all-white church, inspiring Brown's signature funky style. He's one of the inmates joining Bobby's gospel band for "O Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't Your Mourn," until he's attacked by another prisoner and starts a fight.

Smith is equally magnetic in his one number as Little Richard. "Tutti Frutti" shows Richard's flamboyant style even better than "Caldonia" showed off Brown and the Flames. James' one boxing match even turns into an instrumental jazz number as he imagines a jazz combo playing as he's beaten black and blue. "This Thing Called Love" gives us a brief routine at a club showing Brown's early success with black audiences. Syd Nathan (Fred Melamed) doesn't understand "Please, Please, Please" the way Ben Brandt does, considering it repetitive and protesting Brown recording it despite Brandt pushing it.

No wonder Live at the Apollo was such a smash, with a short but really funky rendition of "Night Train" that the audience adores. "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World" shows how he fell for Deidre and how dramatic his shows could get, which takes us back into a brief reprise of "Please, Please, Please." "Cold Sweat" is performed in the recording studio, showing how hard he could be on his band, his wife, and his best friend. His band mate Pee Wee imitates him singing "Mother Popcorn" in the studio...before the assassination of Martin Luther King. He convinces the mayor of Boston to let the concert go on, despite the riots in the summer of 1968...and keeps the audience from tearing the town apart with his rendition of "Mother Popcorn," even letting one kid dance onstage. 

He records the Civil Rights anthem "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" with a chorus of kids in the studio. A lean, mean James comments on his current situation right before a dynamic "Soul Power" in Paris. His truly heartfelt "Try Me" in 1993 is what finally convinces Bobby and his wife Vicki that all is forgiven. 

What I Don't Like: Though the non-linear story makes this unique among biopics, it also makes it hard to follow. The erratic quick-change editing that rarely lets anyone finish a number doesn't help here. While the costumes are nice and remain true to the time, the makeup on everyone later in the film is anything but convincing, particularly on Ells. They could have gone even further into certain aspects of his life, like his heavy involvement with the Civil Rights Moment and writing his own material. Like Five Heartbeats, this also goes on for way too long. 

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for Boseman and Ellis' performances if you're a fan of Brown or vintage R&B and soul music with time on your hands. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime