Family Fun Saturday - Snow Day (2022)

Nickelodeon, 2022

Starring Micheala Russell, Ky Baldwin, Fabi Aguirre, and Shelby Simmons

Directed by Michael Lembeck

Music and Lyrics by various

Nickelodeon began making original films in 2006, nearly a decade after their rival Disney Channel put out their first films. It was 2009 before they started making musicals, and even then, most of those were based on familiar characters or extension of their shows. This one is a remake, but not of a Nick show. Nickelodeon began a unit for theatrical films in 1996. Snow Day was their third live-action film, and their first not based after one of their properties. It was a surprise hit in 2000 despite bad reviews, but how does the story of a pair of siblings who experience one life-changing winter's afternoon look with music added? Let's begin as Natalie Brandston (Russell) explains why it's so important that snow cancels school and find out...

The Story: Natalie is frustrated because there's been no snow this year, and she wants to get out of a major test. Her brother Hal (Baldwin) wants to impress Claire (Simmons), the girl he's had a crush on for years. They both get their wishes when a freak snowstorm blasts through, closing school and everything else. Natalie spends her snow day trying to keep the kid-hating guy running the snow plow (Jerry Trainor) from getting through. Hal pursues Claire with the help of his best friend Lane (Aguirre), who has her own crush on him. Claire's boyfriend Chuck (Myles Erlick) barely knows her, but she's crazy about him. Natalie and Hal's parents Tom (Rob Huebel) and Linda (Laura Bell Bundy) attempt to make the perfect pancake for their youngest son Randy (Viggo Hanvelt).

The Song and Dance: I haven't seen the original movie, but this one does have some good points. There's a few decent numbers, including the opening with the kids in the snow and the ensemble number with the cool kids "Cake." Aguirre and Simmons come off by far the best as girl who really is interested in Hal for what he is, and the sweet ballerina he wants to change for. Some of the filming isn't bad for TV, either, especially when the kids are pursuing the man with the snow plow.

The Numbers: We open with the title song as Natale and all the local kids celebrate their first snow day on her front lawn. Claire, Chuck, and their friends sing about "Cake" at the local hang-out with the waitresses joining in. Hal insists "I Need a Sign" as he laments having accidentally dumped a milkshake on Claire and wanting her to love him. The snow plow driver grumps about "These Kids" who block him from doing his job after the snow starts. Lane wonders "What If?" Hal would see her as more than a friend. The kids all skate together in the finale as they celebrate another snow day, declaring that "The Best Is Yet To Come." We get the vigorous "Everyone Celebrate" over the credits. 

What I Don't Like: Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want to spend a real-life snow day with either Natalie or Hal. Hal awkwardly chasing Claire comes off uncomfortably close to stalking at some points, especially given he knows everything about her. Natalie is a snide little brat who blackmails her teachers because she can't be bothered to study and harasses a snow plow driver who is just doing his job. She's lucky she and her two guy friends didn't get hurt or into worse trouble for their antics. 

Their parents apparently had a lot more to do in the original film, including a whole subplot with their father and a rival weatherman that wasn't carried over here. (That may have had something to do with Chevy Chase playing the father in the first movie.)  The songs are cute enough but not terribly memorable or enjoyable and are just kind of there. They probably could have remade this as a straight comedy without music. 

The Big Finale: Fine for 8 to 12 year olds who are stuck at home on a real-life snow day, but most adults will probably be annoyed or bored. 

Home Media: Seems to be streaming only at the moment. It's not currently on Paramount Plus, but can be found elsewhere.

Amazon Prime (Buy Only) 

YouTube

Animation Celebration Extra - Shinbone Alley

Allied Artists, 1970

Voices of Carol Channing, Eddie Bracken, Alan Reed, and John Carradine

Directed by John David Wilson

Music by George Kleinsinger; Lyrics by Joe Darion

Cockroach poet Archy and his alley cat girlfriend Mehitabel go back to 1916, as comics by Don Francks in the New York Tribune spoofing city life in the 1910's and 20's. The comics remained popular in the 1950's, enough for a concept album based around the characters featuring Bracken, Channing, and David Wayne to be released in 1954. It was expanded for the stage in 1957, retaining Bracken as Archy and with Eartha Kitt replacing Channing as Mehitabel. Despite featuring some of the first stage work of Mel Brooks and the use of animal characters and an integrated cast, it was not a success, but the songs and the original stories retained enough fans for British animator Wilson to try them as an animated film. How well does he do bringing the trials and tribulations of two very different animal friends to life? Let's begin with a splash, and the voice of Archy (Bracken) as he jumps off a bridge, and find out...

The Story: Archy's suicide attempt ends with him being reincarnated as a cockroach. He's horrified by this at first, until he figures out how to write poetry by jumping on the keys of a reporter's (Byron Kane) typewriter and finds a muse in alley cat Mehitabel (Channing). He and Mehitabel become friends, despite her going off with tough tomcat Big Bill (Reed). Archy tries to convince her to get a better job after Bill drops her, but she just goes off with shady producer cat Tyrone T. Tattersall (Carradine) instead. 

Tattersall finally kicks her out when he's angry over her upstaging him by singing Romeo and Juliet. Mehitabel briefly ends up back with Big Bill, inspiring heartbroken Archy to lead the other bugs to a near-revolution. He eventually learns that Mehitabel has been abandoned with kittens and finally convinces her to take a respectable job as a house cat. Her children have a home, but she's bored, and Archy isn't allowed in the house. He takes up with decidedly unladylike ladybugs before he finally realizes that being a real friend means accepting your friends for what they are, bad choices and all. 

The Animation: The sketchy style is pretty common for animated films from this era. The characters move very well, and the backgrounds in particular are quite detailed, with its depictions of down-and-dirty New York in the 1910's from an animal's point of view. The animation is bumped up for the musical numbers. Archy's attempt to incite his fellow bugs to revolt against humankind is drawn in the sparer style of the original George Herriman artwork, indeed looking like a hand-drawn strip literally come to life.

The Song and Dance: Terrific performances anchor this odd adult animated musical. Bracken comes off better (and a lot less annoying) here than he ever did in live-action, especially screaming for bugs to riot in that revolution number! Channing more than matches him as the wild and fickle kitty who follows her heart - and her libido - first and her best friend a distance second. Alan Freed is so good as self-centered Bill, you'd barely recognize him as the long-time voice of Fred Flintstone. The animation is limited but occasionally gets fairly creative, as in that revolution sequence. And honestly, just the unique subject matter of a poetry-writing cockroach falling for a wild-living alley cat makes this more interesting than most animated films from this era.

The Songs: We open with "I Am Only a Poor Cockroach" as Archy explains his situation and how he ended up in a roach's body. Mehibital and her ladies sing "Come to Meeoww" as their introductory and the introduction to life as an alley cat. Big Bill and his buddies have more positive feelings about their home in the jaunty ragtime title song. "Archy's Philosophies" covers everything from the human race to poetry, which segways in to "The Moth Song" as he describes what happens to a moth when they do "the conventional thing" and play with fire. 

Mehitabel comes back after Bill drops her, determined as ever to say "Cheerio My Deario" and sing and dance her trouble away. Reunited, the two claim "Who Cares If We're Down and Out?" "Ah the Theater, the Theater" introduces Tyrone and shows him to be the fake we and Archy know him to be and Mehitabel doesn't want to believe he is. Her version of "Romeo and Juliet" is hilarious, singing her idea of the words and annoying Tyrone more and more.  

The background cat girl singers croon a "Lullaby for Mehitiabel's Kittens," even as the mother herself laments constantly having to sacrifice her career for children. "Blow Wind Out of the North" finally convinces her to take a real job and seek shelter for herself and her children. "The Lightning Bug Song" is another bittersweet Archy story, this one about a flashy lightning bug who got above his station. Mehitabel is used to the wild life and gets very tired of the constant "Here Pretty Pussy" from her new owners. Archy ends up dancing with "Ladybugs of the Evening" when he gets drunk after his best friend throws him out, reminding him that roaches aren't allowed in the house. Mehitabel reprises "Cheerio My Deerio" when she returns to Shinbone Alley with her buddy Archy, then goes into the finale reprise of the title song.

Trivia: As mentioned, the stage Shinbone Alley was even less of a success than the film, barely lasting three weeks. It was filmed for TV in 1960 under the Shinbone Alley title with Bracken and Tammy Grimes, but only audio survives. 

Director John David Wilson mostly did shorts in England. This would be his only feature.

What I Don't Like: No wonder this never seems to have worked as anything but a concept album. What audience did they intend this for again? The semi-cute animated bugs and their antics are for kids, but the subject matter - including two attempted suicides and kittens born out of wedlock to parents who don't want them - is decidedly adult. They couldn't figure it out in 1957 onstage or on film in 1970, and I doubt anyone could now. The songs are ok, not horrible, but nothing that memorable, and the animation leans heavily on the barely-moving sketchiness that was common in this time period. Not only that, but frankly, neither Archy nor Mehtiabel - or anyone they meet - are all that pleasant to begin with. 

The Big Finale: If you can talk your young teens into an animated film with singing animals or are intrigued by the cast or are familiar with the comics this is based on, the performances here are good enough to make this worth checking out at least once. 

Home Media: The DVD is in print, but is currently expensive. You might be better off looking for copies on YouTube or elsewhere. 

DVD

YouTube

Honoring Chinese New Year - The Legend of Su-Ling

Golden Films, 1998

Voice cast unknown

Directed by Diane Paloma Eskenanzi

Music by Mike Himmlestein; Lyrics by Mike Himmelstein and Terry Sampson

UAV was far from the only company that put out imitations of the latest animated blockbusters in the 1990's and early 2000's. Golden Films debuted in 1990 to make low-budget animated films and specials for television. Unlike UAV, they occasionally branched into original stories in addition to Disney and Don Bluth imitations. Given when this was released, it's likely this was originally intended to piggyback the success of Mulan, but it has more in common with daintier Disney stories from earlier in the decade like Beauty and the Beast. How well does it come off today? Let's begin with the opening number "Land of Jade" as Chinese peasants work in the sun and sing about their kingdom and find out...

The Story: The peasants are forced to give up their treasures to the Emperor, who amasses wealth and beautiful things to fill the hole in his heart after the death of his wife. He tries to force his son Chen into marrying a princess of his choosing, but she's a spoiled brat with no patience or appreciation for the garden Chen has worked hard on. The Emperor and his sniveling toady Wang want Chen to marry and add the princess' wealth to their coffers, but Chen wants to marry for love.

Tired of his father's smothering and greed, Chen flees the palace in the guise of a peasant. He takes up with a kindly old fisherman and falls for his beautiful granddaughter Su-Ling. Su-Ling is angry because the Emperor took her nightingale, the one thing she owned, as a present for the princess. When the nightingale refuses to sing, Wang convinces the Emperor that Su-Ling's grandfather might have a spell that would make it perform again. Su-Ling follows him, flat-out telling the Emperor that the bird won't sing because she won't. The Emperor forces Su-Ling to marry his son...but Su-Ling doesn't realize that the prince and her beloved fisherman are one and the same...

The Animation: Only slightly above UAV's usual work. The colors are bright and jewel-like, as appropriate for a story set in China, but the movement is stiff, there's no expression on the characters, and they tend to look all alike. The backgrounds and costume designs are a little bit more detailed, especially in the opening chorus number and during Chen's number when he's venturing into the world.

The Song and Dance: Golden Films gets credit for going with an original story and not a flat-out rehash of Mulan. Despite Su-Ling being in the title, Chen is the one who really propels the action. This is has more in common with a gender-reversed Aladdin or the Hans Christian Andersen story The Nightingale than Mulan. I'm also glad no one is really played as a bad guy. The Emperor may behave like a jerk, but he's reacting badly to the loss of his wife. Wang is a yes-man who is just following orders. The real story is seeing how the Emperor learns that beauty and graciousness is something that can't be bought or forced, and that all the riches in the world can't compare to the richness of a loving heart. 

The Numbers: We open with that chorus number "Land of Jade" depicting Su-Ling, Chen, and the people of China at work and play, which also closes the film. "Here I Go Out In the World" takes Chen out of the palace and among his people to find his own way. "I Found This Love" is Su-Ling and Chen's big ballad as they help her grandfather and fall for each other. We also get a short chorus dance with a "Dragon" before Chen marries the woman his father wants him to.

What I Don't Like: For the character who is actually in the title, Su-Ling could have had more to do. She's feisty, standing up to her grandfather and the Emperor, but she's mostly seen in the beginning and the end. She and Chen barely have time to fall in love, or do much of anything together besides their ballad. One minute, she mistakes him for a thief, and the next, they're crazy about each other. The Emperor's sudden change of heart in the end is a little too fast as well. Once again, I really wish they'd been able to expand it another half-hour or so to flesh out the characters and their motivations.

The Big Finale: Short but charming fairy tale is worth checking out this Chinese New Year for fans of Aladdin and those looking for a sweet and unique way to pass 40 minutes or so before dinner.

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

DVD

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

Warner Bros, 1952

Starring Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Charles Laughton, and Hilary Brooke

Directed by Charles Lamont

Music by Bill Russell; Lyrics by Lester Lee

Lou and Bud didn't make too many flat-out musicals, and the few that they did make tended to be for other studios. Universal wouldn't make their films in color, so they insisted on making one independent film outside the studio a year that they financed and would be more lavished than the norm for their vehicles. Character actor Charles Laughton had starred as Captain Kidd in a popular 1945 film. He admired Lou and was eager to appear in a knockabout comedy. How well does Laughton's gravity work with the duo's usual slapstick shenanigans? Let's begin with the infamous Captain Kidd (Laughton) and his men pulling into port and find out...

The Story: Oliver "Puddin' Head" Johnson (Costello) and Rocky Stonebridge (Abbott) are working at the Death's Head Tavern when Kidd and his men arrive. Pretty Lady Jane (Fran Warren) wants Oliver to bring a love note to Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley), the singer at the tavern. Oliver manages to get the love note mixed up with the map to an enormous treasure belonging to Kidd. Kidd's not the only one who wants that map back. Captain Ann Bonney (Brooke) doesn't appreciate Kidd raiding ships on her turf and wants her share of the treasure, too. 

Rocky convinces Kidd to bring them on board and share the treasure. Not only does Kidd have no intention of sharing the treasure with anyone - including Anne - but he forces Bruce onto his ship and kidnaps Lady Jane after he raids the ship taking her to the New World. Not to mention, Captain Ann thinks Lady Jane's love note was intended for Oliver and wonders what she sees in him. She may be the only one who can save them all when Kidd goes back on his word and all of them end  up in danger.

The Song and Dance: Laughton may be having more fun than you might think as the tyrannical Kidd, but Brooke does the best here as the lovely female pirate who is determined to get her share of the treasure...and of Oliver, too. The three-strip Cinecolor has a slightly softer look to it than Technicolor, giving this the feel of a painting in a book on pirate lore. Abbott and Costello have some decent gags as well, including the handcuff sequence taken from their 1942 mystery movie Who Done It? 

The Numbers: We open with Kidd's first mate Morgan (Leif Erickson) bellowing "Away Ay Aye Ay" as he and he pirates tell us about their life on the sea. "Meet Captain Kidd" brings in the tyrannical sea dog and shows why he's respected and feared. Morgan and Bruce claim they lead "A Bachelor's Life" at the tavern. Oliver and Rocky join Morgan sing to the chorus that "Tonight We Sail." Bruce and Lady Jane are kept apart, but the still manage to duet on "Speak of Me the Tall Pine" and "North of Nowhere."

What I Don't Like: For one thing, too many of their gags are recycled from older material, and not just the handcuff sequence, either. Laughton and Brooke dominate the proceedings so much, it's hard for anyone else to come across - including Bud and Lou. Laughton acts rings around both of them, and frankly there's too much emphasis on him and on the uninteresting Jane and Bruce in the second half and not them.

The Big Finale: Harmless hour and a half's worth of viewing for fans of swashbucklers, Laughton, or Abbott and Costello, but nothing you need to go out of your way to see. 

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD. The latter comes from the Warner Archives; the former is currently free with commercials at Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Cult Flops - Forbidden Zone

The Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1980

Starring Herve Villechaize, Susan Tyrell, Marie-Pascal Elfman, and Phil Gordon

Directed by Richard Elfman

Music and Lyrics by various

Our second cult musical of the week jumps ahead five years to a very different rock group. The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo began life in 1972 as a surrealist street performance troupe. They added 30's and 40's jazz and their own material when original founder Richard Elfman's brother Danny joined in 1976. By 1979, Danny Elfman wanted to take the group in a whole new direction. This movie was seen as a way for Richard Elfman to transition from making music to making movies, and for Oingo Boingo to move from being a theatrical troupe to a New Wave rock group. How successful were they? Let's begin as the title card explains about the house with the entrance to the Sixth Dimension in its basement and find out...

The Story: Drug and slum lord Huckleberry P. Jones (Gene Cunningham) sells one of his houses to the Hercules family. They're told not to open the door to the basement, the Forbidden Zone. Sister Frenchy (Marie-Pascal Elfman) does it anyway and is captured by the Princess (Gisele Lindley), who brings her to King Fausto (Villechaize) and Queen Doris (Tyrell) of the Sixth Dimension. Fausto falls for Frenchy and wants to marry her. The Queen is insanely jealous and orders their frog servant Bust Rod (Jan Stuart Schwartz) to throw her in the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Frenchy's brother Flash (Gordon) and their Gramps (Hyman Diamond) have also gone to rescue her, but are taken prisoner as well. Their father (Cunningham) is blasted into the Sixth Dimension and ends up captured as well. Flash and Gramps escape and discover the first Queen (Viva), who wants her revenge on Doris for seducing her and locking her in the dungeon. There's also their meek friend Squeezit (Matthew Bright), who reluctantly goes looking for Frenchy and his sibling Rene (Bright), only to run a foul of Satan (Danny Elfman) and his Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

The Song and Dance: Um, yeah. You can't get much more out there than this movie. With its wacky pastel cardboard sets and surreal animation, this is about as cult as you can get. No wonder Danny Elfman would go on to work extensively with Tim Burton for years. They share a very similar sensibility. For all that they insult every race out there, this movie is surprisingly decent to its transvestite characters. At the very least, Renee and Squeezit are no worse or less strange than anyone else. Bright and Tyrell come off best as the sensitive drag duo Squeezit and Rene and Susan Tyrell as the Queen who is determined to fight off every newcomer and keep her throne and her short man. 

The Numbers: We open with the title song over the animated credits, performed by Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights. Our first full-on number is a version of the standard "Some of These Days," performed by Ma, Pa, and Frenchy to explain why they shouldn't go into the Sixth Dimension. We then go down below for an instrumental version as a mostly-naked chorus performs it in the Sixth Dimension. Frenchy dances to the Josephine Baker number "La Petite Tonkinoise" during class, joined by two blind dancers. 

Frenchy arrives in the Sixth Dimension finds The Kipper Kids dressed as boxers joining real-life Latin singer Miguelito Valdes singing "Bim Bam Boom" in the ring. Queen Doris' introductory song is "Witch's Egg," on why she's such a bad girl and doesn't want to share her hubby. Frenchy briefly performs another Baker number, "Plure," while begging for help. Queen Doris does not like her husband watching this number one bit! "The Alphabet Song" is a spoof of the Three Stooges' "Swinging the Alphabet" that begins with Miss Feldman (Kendric Wolfe) giving their own version and ends with it becoming a rock number and those "kids" tossing out some pretty sweet dance moves. 

Rene laments what the Queen will do to them, while Doris rages about the "Queen's Revenge" and how she intends to eliminate her rivals. "Pico and Sepulveda" is the chorus number for Pa Hercules and the workers at the La Brea Tar Pits, singing with the real voices of Felix Figureroa and His Orchestra. Satan himself and his men get to lay into the jazz parody "Squeezit the Moocher" as Squeezit begs to help Frenchy and his sister. Queen Doris is not impressed with Mr. Bernstein's "Yiddishe Charleston" and zaps him out of existence. The wild "Finale" brings everyone who is still alive together to celebrate rock, jazz, and taking over the universe.

Trivia: The movie was filmed in black and white. It was originally going to be hand colored, but that was eventually discarded as expensive and inefficient. It would be digitally colorized under Richard Elfman's supervision in 2008. (I reviewed the colorized version currently at Tubi.)

Richard and Marie-Pascal Elfman were married at the time. They originally financed the movie repairing and selling houses. They ran out of money but were helped by a benefactor.

Richard Elfman has been trying to make a sequel to this for years and has discussed putting out collectibles and books based after the Sixth Dimension characters as well. 

What I Don't Like: If anything in the above descriptions offends, annoys, upsets, or mystifies you, this probably won't be your thing. This movie insults pretty much everyone else besides transvestites, including gay people, Jews, and African-Americans. The opening animation includes blackface, and the school "kids" include gay and black stereotypes. (The Mystic Knights' makeup in the "Squeezit the Moocher" sequence and the clown drug seller in the opening are said to be more obviously blackface in the original black and white version.) Violence, heavy swearing, women who spend the movie running around in little or no clothing, and some noisy and very casual sex makes this for adult cult movie fans only.

The Big Finale: Some things are just too weird, even for me. I thought this had some great music, but was otherwise a bit much for my taste. If you're a bigger fan of Danny Elfman or Oingo Boingo than me or are more into the weirder side of his work, you might find a lot more in the Hercules family's adventures in the Sixth Dimension than I did.

Home Media: Easily found pretty much everywhere, including on disc and free with commercials at Tubi.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Tommy (1975)

Columbia Pictures, 1975

Starring Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margaret, Oliver Reed, and Elton John

Directed by Ken Russell

Music and Lyrics by Pete Townsend and others

Having enjoyed the unique film biographies I watched last week, I thought I'd dive further into the stranger side of rock with two really weird movies from the 70's and 80's based around groups of the time. Townsend wrote the original Tommy in 1968. It debuted a year later on a two-disc record and was a massive success. Music producer Robert Stigwood, who specialized in rock spectacles like Jesus Christ Superstar, bought the rights and brought in Russell. Russell wasn't a fan of rock, but he knew weird extravaganzas like no one's business. How did  his peculiar sensibilities shape this story of a young deaf, dumb, and blind pinball player who becomes a messianic-like figure? Let's begin with Tommy's mother Nora Walker (Ann-Margaret) and father (Robert Powell) during the early days of their courtship and find out...

The Story: Nora is pregnant with her son Tommy (Barry Winch) when her husband goes missing during World War II. Five years later, she falls for Frank Hobbs (Reed), whom she met at a summer camp. Tommy looks up to Frank, until he sees him murder his returning father reflected in the mirror. Frank and Nora insist that he didn't hear or see anything, making him withdraw into a deaf, dumb, and blind state.

By the time Tommy (Daltrey) is in his early 20's, Nora is in despair of him ever being cured. Frank takes him to a faith healer (Eric Clapton) and a drug dealer (Tina Turner), but nothing works. Leaving him with a bullying cousin (Paul Nicholas) and an abusive uncle (Keith Moon) doesn't help, either. Tommy eventually discovers he's a pinball protege, beating even the reigning champ (Elton John). This brings him a great deal of money, but it does nothing to help his condition. 

Frank finally takes Tommy to a doctor (Jack Nicholson) who suggests he confront his reflection in the mirror. His mother is fed up and shoves him through it...which does the trick. Tommy is not only cured, he wants to transform the entire world. He travels with a band to spread his word, turning his home into a religious camp. That makes him wildly popular with young girls especially, at least until they demand he do more than talk and sing. He loses everything in the ensuing riot...but gains an understanding of the true meaning of salvation.

The Song and Dance: Even just that plot description tells you what you're in for. The Who's music and simply amazing imagery carry the day here. There's also some fabulous costumes, going from the austerity of World War II through the glittering "glam rock" popular in the mid-70's. Russell spared no expense, and the result is a jaw-dropping mish-mash of all-star cameos (look for Turner's "Acid Queen" number and Jack Nicholson in one of his only two musicals to date) to the expansive cinematography and massive sets and pinball machines. Ann-Margaret did so well as Tommy's desperate mother, she won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar. Reed nearly matches her as the seemingly cheerful holiday worker she falls for, until she discovers his dark side. 

The Numbers: We open with Nora and Captain Walker's romantic courtship, her husband's disappearance, and Tommy's birth in "Captain Walker/It's a Boy." "Bernie's Holiday Camp" shows Tommy's childhood and introduces Frank, showing why mother and son both come to appreciate him. Nora and Frank hope "1951" will be their year, but they worry "What About the Boy" when he sees them kill his father. Tommy's "Amazing Journey" begins and ends with the mirror as he shuts himself in his head. His mother laments that he can't even appreciate his birthday on "Christmas." 

"Eyesight to the Blind" and "Acid Queen" are Frank and Nora's attempts to find someone to heal their son. "Eyesight" takes them to a cult that worships Marilyn Monroe, while the "Acid Queen" deals in drugs and Iron Maidens. Neither "Cousin Kevin" nor Uncle Ernie who "Fiddles About" do much to help Tommy's condition. Tommy eventually finds the "Sparks" that brings him to an abandoned pinball machine. Pete Townsend himself narrates "Extra, Extra, Extra," on Tommy's rise to fame, bringing us to the famous "Pinball Wizard" sequence. Elton John stomps out in massive boots (that he asked to be allowed to keep) in a lavish sequence with the two of them surrounded by fans in probably the show's best-known song.

"Champagne" depicts Tommy's rise as a media sensation. Nora watches in her pristine white room, furious that her son can't experience all of this for himself. She imagines herself covered in the beans she sees on TV and the chocolate she's been eating, writhing in her misery. "There's a Doctor" brings in Frank to explain they're seeing another doctor, and the doctor telling them what's really wrong with Tommy. "Go to the Mirror" leads Nora to the edge, taking us to "Tommy Can You Hear Me" and "Smash the Mirror." 

"I"m Free" finally releases Tommy, letting him enjoy everything he's missed over 20 years. "Mother and Son" and "Miracle Cure" is his becoming that messiah figure. "Sally Simpson" is the young girl who believes in his cult and is hurt defying her father to see him. "Sensation," "Welcome," and "TV Studio" shows Tommy's rise to cult figure. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" brings his people together, but they rebel, claiming "We're Not Gonna Take It." It ends with Tommy fleeing the destroyed home and following the sun in "Listening to You/See Me, Feel Me."

Trivia: Tommy's continuing popularity led to Townsend adapting it to the stage in 1992. It opened on Broadway a year later and ran for two years. The London production in 1996 didn't do nearly as well, not even making a year. It was revived on Broadway briefly in 2024.

Two real-life pinball machines were made by Data East that were inspired by the film, one featuring Roger Daltrey, the other Elton John.

There's quite a few changes from the album (and would be more for the stage version). For one thing, Captain Walker kills his wife's lover on the album and onstage, not the other way around, and he came back from World War I rather than World War II. The order of many songs are reversed, new lyrics were written, and "Bertie's Holiday Camp," "Extra, Extra, Extra," "Champagne," "Mother and Son," and "TV Studio" were added.  

What I Don't Like: Your interest in and appreciation of this film will depend on how big of a Who and hard rock fan you are and your tolerance for Russell's in-your-face style of direction. This is not a subtle movie. It's also not a traditional romantic family musical. It's not for those who aren't fans of hard rock in general and the Who in particular, who can't handle or don't like Russell's wild camp spectacles, or who are looking for a quieter show. Fans of the album and the stage show may not appreciate some of the changes or the weirder casting. 

The Big Finale: Necessary viewing for fans of the Who and Elton John, this is also recommended for those who like their rock musicals huge, lavish, and completely off-the-wall. 

Home Media: Easy to find in all formats, including streaming. The two-disc 4K set will be released on March 18th. 

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Blu-Ray

4K

Amazon Prime

Musical Documentaries - Say Amen, Somebody

United Artists, 1982

Starring Thomas A. Dorsey, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Delois Barrett Campbell, and Zella Jackson Price

Directed by George Nierenberg

Music and Lyrics by Thomas A. Dorsey and others

We celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with this joyous celebration of gospel music, from the director of the delightful tap documentary No Maps On My Taps I reviewed in 2021. Considering King himself was a minister, a musical on gospel and those who brought it to the masses seems extremely appropriate. Nierenberg was a young Jewish man who knew little about the subject, but like with the revival of tap, thought its story deserved to be told. Let's begin with one of the extraordinary performers he brought back into the limelight, Father of Gospel Thomas A. Dorsey, and see how well he did...

The Story:  We hear the story of gospel and how it was brought to the masses, via long-time performers like Dorsey, "Mother" Willie Mae Ford Smith, and the Barrett Sisters. Smith and Dorsey in particular recall the difficulties they had bringing gospel music to churches in the 1930's and the creation of Dorsey's most famous song, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."

The Song and Dance: What a delight! I'm glad Nierenberg found these people. It's sheer happiness to see them belting their religious numbers to the heavens. They're all obviously having a wonderful time, especially in the finale during the gospel convention. Their stories are fascinating. I've only seen one or two other documentaries on gospel music, so it was interesting to hear it performed and discussed by people who made it what it is today. And  thankfully, unlike Maps, there's more than enough time to learn about all of these people and how many of them sacrificed everything to bring gospel to the masses. 

The Numbers: We open with Willie Mae Smith, the mother herself, belting "Singing In My Soul" and "What Manner of Man" for the huge crowds at the convention. Dorsey gets a brief "When I've Done My Best." We see no less than beloved gospel singer Mahalia Jackson performing Dorsey's "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in older footage. Zella Jackson Price gets "I'm His Child," Smith reprises "Soul" later for a smaller crowd. 

The O'Neal Twins with the huge Interfaith Choir get the dynamic "He Chose Me" and "Highway to Heaven," along with "Jesus Dropped the Charges." The Barrett Sisters' numbers include "The Storm Is Passing Over," "No  Ways Tired," and "He Brought Us." Dorsey gets a chance to sing his own "Precious Lord" in front of that enormous crowd at the gospel convention near the end of the movie. 

What I Don't Like: Honestly, this might have the opposite problem from Maps. Sometimes, these people go on a little too long before they actually show how good they still are at singing. I kind of wish it had gone even further into its subject, including the reasons these people and their music were barred from so many churches in the 30's and 40's - namely, the racism. that kept the music from spreading faster then. 

The Big Finale: Even non-gospel fans like me can appreciate this joyous celebration of how gospel music and attitudes towards it and those who sing it have changed over the years.

Home Media: The discs are currently out of print but can be found on the secondary market. You're better off looking for this one on streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

YouTube (buy or rent)