Musicals On Streaming - O'Dessa

20th Century Fox/Searchlight Pictures/Hulu, 2025

Starring Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Regina Hall, and Murray Bartlett

Directed by Geremy Jasper

Music by Geremy Jasper; Lyrics by Jason Binnick

Snow White isn't the only musical with a strong female protagonist the Disney Company released in the past week. This gender-flipped rock opera retelling of "Orpheus and Eurydice" set in a post-apocalyptic world got reviews that were nearly as bad, but is it really that horrible, or is it just different? Let's turn on the TV for a green scroll that tells us how this world came under the control of a mesmerizing man named Plutonovich (Bartlett) and the Seventh Son who will come from the mountains with their guitar and take him down and find out...

The Story: That "Seventh Son" is O'Dessa (Sink), the daughter of a wandering musician who left her nothing but a prized family guitar on his death. After the death of her mother, O'Dessa cuts her hair, wears man's clothes, and takes up in her father's footsteps as a traveling musician. She doesn't get far before a gang steals the guitar out from under her. Following them brings her to Satelyite City, one of the last outposts of civilization. Desperate to get the guitar back from a pawn shop, she joins a talent contest at a local bar. The only person who appreciates her bluesy style is Euri Dervish (Harrison), a nightclub singer she rescues from an overly-amorous patron. They spend the night together under the boardwalk and fall deeply in love. 

Euri tells her about Plutonovich, who uses all the plasma that's polluting the ground to power his addicting broadcasts, and inspires her to sing for pennies from the people. This does get her the guitar back, but not Euri. Turns out he has deals with Plutonovich's right-hand woman Neon Dion (Hall). After she kidnaps Euri during his wedding to O'Dessa, she follows them to Plutonovich's Onderworld lair to join his reality competition and prove once and for all the power of prophecy and true love.

The Song and Dance: The performances are the thing here. Sink does well by the tough, scrappy title character who truly believes Euri is her destiny, but the real stand-outs are the villains. Bartlett is so charismatic and bombastic as the dictator who uses the power of media to keep the people from rebelling, you can understand why they were all mesmerized. Hall does even better as the terrifying cross between Grace Jones and an especially angry pitbull, especially with those odd severe bangs. The grungy, junk-filled landscape outside of Satilyte City and the blue and neon world within it recall similar dystopia thrillers from the 80's like Streets of Fire and Blade Runner.

The Numbers: We open with the young O'Dessa performing "Under the Stars" for her mother. "Ramblin' Down the Road" shows the start of her journey after she leaves the dying farm. "Cursed Six Strings" is our first chorus number as she joins the group of thieves for a bite and a song. The rock-loving nightclub crowds fail to be moved by her "Ramblin' Blues." O'Dessa is proud to be "Feelin' Free" as she uses her makeshift guitar to sing for the people and earn money for the guitar and get closer to Euri in the second chorus number. Euri sings the darker "Johnny Fame," but is booed in the nightclub when he speaks out against Plutonovich. 

After she's attacked and Euri is hypnotized, they finally realize "Yer Tha One" and prepare to be wed with rings and tattoos. "Here Comes the Seventh Son" announces her intention to the world as she takes a neon boat to Plutonovich's lair. He's the commander of the "Onderworld" as we get our big chorus routines, complete with dancers in very skimpy costumes and a teen pop star in pink feathers wiggling behind him. When she finally gets onstage, O'Dessa pours her heart into "The Song (Love Is All)." She finally becomes that "Plasma Rose" who destroys Plutonovich and sends his lair ablaze. The girl she gave her hand-made guitar to carries on her legacy in the final reprise of "The Song." 

What I Don't Like: This isn't anything you haven't seen in movies set in similar hell scapes since the 1970's. It's basically a musical Hunger Games or Blade Runner. Like those movies, this is definitely style over substance. The story is weird, overly complicated, and ultimately kind of depressing, and the music isn't memorable enough to carry it. If you know anything about the original "Orpheus and Euridyce" myth, you're very aware that this isn't going to have a happy ending. It's also not for those looking for a more traditional or lighthearted romp. Like other movies in its genre, it gets into some very dark and rough territory that includes strong sci-fi violence, a few very brief sexual bits, scanty costumes, and heavy themes.

The Big Finale: This is not going to be for everyone, but if you're into other movies about dark futures or dystopian worlds, are a fan of rock or folk music, or just want to check out a darker take on a favorite myth, this is worth riding a neon boat for.

Home Media: Streaming only via Hulu and Disney Plus. 

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Disney Plus

Musicals On Streaming - The United States Vs Billie Holiday

Hulu, 2021

Starring Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, and Leslie Jordan

Directed by Lee Daniels

Music and Lyrics by various

Lady Sings the Blues was far from the last movie to cover Billy Holiday's tumultuous life. This one is actually based on a book not about Holiday, but on the history of drug addiction in the US. Chasing the Scream goes into the history of anti-drug laws and their impact, which includes Holiday and her troubles with the law. How did this become the story of a woman hounded by the FBI supposedly for her heroin habit, but really because her civil rights beliefs upset the wrong government officials? Let's begin, not with Holiday, but with the discussing of an anti-lynching bill that didn't make it through Congress in 1937, and find out...

The Story: In 1957, shortly before her death, Billie tells the story of her involvement with the US government to reporter Reginald Lord Divine (Jordan). Flashback 10 years to 1947, when FBI agent Harry J. Anslinger (Hedlund) believes that Holiday's song "Strange Fruit," about the lynching of a black man in the south, is a threat. He gets Agent Jimmy Fletcher (Rhodes) to catch her doing drugs at one of her concerts and has her arrested. 

After she gets out of prison, she has a sell-out appearance at Carnegie Hall before she's set up again, this time by her newest lover John Levy (Tone Bell). Fortunately, the courts side with her after Fletcher admits she was framed. Fletcher follows her on tour, but the others are suspicious and even get him to do drugs with them. He and Billie fall for each other, but she says Jimmy could do better and marries Louis McKay (Rob Morgan). 

Neither the marriage nor the interview can do much for Billie. Anslinger continues to hound her, even when she's dying of liver failure in the hospital...but she reminds him that "Strange Fruit" and her performance will continue to live on record and in people's memories.

The Song and Dance: Singers looking to break into acting seem to do well with Billie Holiday. I'd never believe this was Day's first real dramatic role. She was incredible as Holiday, a searing ball of nerves even when the script is all over the place. Rhodes is nearly up to her as the man who loved her and regretted baiting her for the rest of his life. Look for R&B singer Miss Lawrence as Day's eye-patch-sporting friend Miss Freddy and Natasha Lyonne as Tallulah Bankhead. I love the historically accurate costumes and sets too, especially the stunning gowns and jewelry Day wears onstage. 

Favorite Number: Our first number is the one that caused all the trouble, the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit." Day sings it twice, at the concert that's disrupted by the FBI, and near the end of the film. Once she gets out of prison, we hear "I Cried for You" and "Solitude." "Tigress & Tweed" was one of two songs written for the film, and its break-out hit - it was nominated for a Golden Globe; the other is "Break Your Fall." "Tain't Nobody's Bizness" is also heard twice, when Day sings it on tour, and in a recording by Bessie Smith. We get a touching "Lover Man" at Carnegie Hall, and Holiday's own "Lady Sings the Blues" later on. The credits roll over an adorable performance of "All of Me" with Billie trying to teach Fletcher how to dance.

Trivia: Day's feature film debut. She said she lost 40 pounds and started drinking and smoking to get the role.

What I Don't Like: Once again, a lot of this was fabricated. Apparently, the government really did have more interest in Holiday's drug activities than in her civil rights activism, and Anslinger had no personal vendetta against her or "Strange Fruit." Her relationships with women are downplayed, but she did have lovers of both sexes, including Bankhead. She never did "Strange Fruit" as her first number, and the FBI never would have arrested her or anyone in the middle of a concert. 

I'm more concerned about the unwieldy script. It wanders all over the place with no rhyme or reason, jumping back and forth between characters and time periods. Jordan's reporter character is annoying as an audience surrogate, and kind of unnecessary. Also, this and Lady Sings the Blues are very much for adults. There's a ton of swearing, violence, a heavy sex scene, and Day appears fully nude at one point to show off the scars from her addiction. 

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for Day's searing performance and the music alone if you're a fan of Holiday and want more of the story after Lady Sings the Blues. 

Home Media: At the moment, it's exclusive to Hulu. 

Hulu

Musical Documentaries - Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Couldn't Be Televised)

Searchlight Pictures/Hulu, 2021

Featuring Sly & the Family Stone, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and many others

Directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson

Music and Lyrics by various

Having enjoyed No Maps on My Taps last Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, I thought I'd try another documentary about the black musical experience in America. This time, we skip ahead to 1969, the year after King's assassination. TV producer Hal Tuchin filmed the Harlem Cultural Festival, a celebration of Afro-American culture and music. It was made into two television specials at the time, then promptly forgotten. It wasn't until 2004 that film archivist Joe Lauro convinced Tuchin to digitalize the footage, and it took until 2019 for it to be bought from the owners following Tuchin's death. Was this history worth digging up, or should it have remained buried? Let's begin at Mount Morris Park (now Martin Garvey Park) in New York's Harlem neighborhood as the show is about to begin and find out...

The Story: The biggest names in soul, R&B, and blues converged on six weeks of sold-out shows at Mount Morris Park. The joy of the sold-out crowds is contrasted with their lives on the mean streets of Harlem and East Harlem. Harlem was rocked by riots in 1964 that left the neighborhood battered and scarred, but there was hope for the future as they celebrated how blacks fought to reclaim a culture and a music all their own.

The Song and Dance: Wow. It's a damn shame this was overshadowed by Woodstock and other major music festivals that year. There are some amazing performances you just aren't going to see anywhere else. They did an incredible job restoring the footage. I imagine it had to have been in bad shape after being locked up for 50 years, but it looks like it was filmed last week, with glowing colors and audio that beautifully captures every moment onstage. It's wild just to see the relatively conservative then-mayor of New York John Lindsay contrasted to the ultra-hip festival coordinator Tony Lawrence (who was also one of the acts). 

Even more than the music, it was fascinating hearing about this event from not only surviving performers, but people who actually attended. Their memories of how it felt to see this gathering of a culture that had until a few years before largely been forced underground helps show what a watershed this was to black New York audiences at the time. Several people called it "more important than the moon landing"...because this was about those of us on Earth in the here and now, not just far-away possibilities.

Favorite Number: Stevie Wonder kicks things off with a wild drum solo and his electric rendition of the Isley Brothers hit "It's Your Thing." Legendary bluesman B.B King tells us "Why I Sing the Blues" and shows us why he was King of the Blues. Gospel group The Staple Singers really get the crowds into their swinging numbers "Give a Damn," "Help Me Jesus," and "It's Been a Change." The Edwin Hawkins Singers add their own praise to "Oh Happy Day." Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples joins group Operation Breadbasket for Tommy Dorsey's "Precious Lord Take My Hand." 

Gladys Knight & the Pips really rock their cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Mixed-race group Sly & the Family Stone show why they're "Everyday People" with their vibrant performances of that major hit, "Sing a Simple Song," and "Higher." Afro-Puerto-Rican performers Mongo Santamaria and Ray Baretto show off another side of Harlem in their colorful polka-dot shirts with their Latin-influenced "Afro-Blue," "Watermelon Man," "Together," and "Abijdan." Jazz songstress Nina Simone steals the show with her intensely personal "Backlash Blues," "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," and "Are You Ready?"

What I Don't Like: Boy, do I wish they hadn't waited 50 years to do this. We might have heard from a lot of the actual performers, instead of mostly people who saw the show and a few major stars (like Gladys Knight). There are times with pinkish fringing on the edges of the frame or slightly blurry images when you're reminded this is footage from 1969. Watch out for violence and racial slurs that go along with many discussions of this era. 

The Big Finale: If you have any interest at all in black culture or the history of rock, R&B, soul, and gospel in the 60's, you owe to yourself to catch this glorious celebration of a time and place where people found joy in a music that was uniquely theirs. 

Home Media: It'll be available on DVD and digital February 8th. For now, it's a Hulu exclusive. 

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