Quick thoughts on some musicals...
Jan. 5th, 2006 01:08 amI've seen two musicals in the past month...one live, the other a filmed version.
The live one was, "The Drowsey Chaperone." This was playing at the Ahmanson and is apparently headed to Broadway. I had heard it was a very funny musical comedy, but I was very disappointed when I finally saw it. However...the more time went by and I thought about it, the more I liked the show (very unusual). I think that if this show had been advertised as, "An eccentric lover of musicals walks us through a beloved-- but obscure-- musical and tries to convince the audience of the show's hidden (very hidden) charms." I think I actually like it now! Musically, it's fairly light: along the lines of, "Me and My Girl," or "My One and Only." I have friends who thought it was the best thing ever, so maybe they're right!
Tonight, in an effort to avoid the Game of the Century, a friend and I went to see, "The Producers" (the movie). Most of the same friends who thought TDC was hilarious, found the movie version of TP unwatchable. Oddly, we both enjoyed this a lot. She and I both noticed a key attention-meter: neither of us was tempted to look at our watch at any point of the film (usually a sign of great editing/pacing). My only criticism: Martin Short would have made a MUCH better Leo Bloom than Matthew Broderick: MB is too good-looking, tall and dead-pan to be a snivelling weasel. In fact, half the time he seemed to be doing a Martin Short impersonation.
Also, I didn't realize Will Ferrell was in this film! As a fantastic Franz Liebkind! He may be the most underrated comedian of the day. I think he's a lot funnier than Jim Carrey and nearly every film Ferrel's in is hilarious! Plus, his "The Hop-Clop Goes On" (sung in the credits) is indescribably funny!
The live one was, "The Drowsey Chaperone." This was playing at the Ahmanson and is apparently headed to Broadway. I had heard it was a very funny musical comedy, but I was very disappointed when I finally saw it. However...the more time went by and I thought about it, the more I liked the show (very unusual). I think that if this show had been advertised as, "An eccentric lover of musicals walks us through a beloved-- but obscure-- musical and tries to convince the audience of the show's hidden (very hidden) charms." I think I actually like it now! Musically, it's fairly light: along the lines of, "Me and My Girl," or "My One and Only." I have friends who thought it was the best thing ever, so maybe they're right!
Tonight, in an effort to avoid the Game of the Century, a friend and I went to see, "The Producers" (the movie). Most of the same friends who thought TDC was hilarious, found the movie version of TP unwatchable. Oddly, we both enjoyed this a lot. She and I both noticed a key attention-meter: neither of us was tempted to look at our watch at any point of the film (usually a sign of great editing/pacing). My only criticism: Martin Short would have made a MUCH better Leo Bloom than Matthew Broderick: MB is too good-looking, tall and dead-pan to be a snivelling weasel. In fact, half the time he seemed to be doing a Martin Short impersonation.
Also, I didn't realize Will Ferrell was in this film! As a fantastic Franz Liebkind! He may be the most underrated comedian of the day. I think he's a lot funnier than Jim Carrey and nearly every film Ferrel's in is hilarious! Plus, his "The Hop-Clop Goes On" (sung in the credits) is indescribably funny!