Singin' in the Cinema

Growing up, The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorite movies. I can remember the sheer excitement when it would come on television. And yet, I never really thought of it as a musical. The musical is a genre that isn't often appreciated, at least the modern day musical. Let me pause before I get ahead of myself.

As I surveyed the AFI's 100 Years of Musicals list, which features the top musicals of American cinema. I came across many other musicals that I have enjoyed throughout the years. West Side Story, The Sound of Music, An American in Paris, Meet Me in St. Louis, Chicago, and Funny Girl. There is one musical that sticks out to me above all the rest...Singin' in the Rain.

I can't remember the first time I saw this musical, but I was surprisingly at least 20 years old. I immediately fell in love with the musical, and well, Gene Kelly for that matter. The movie itself speaks very clearly about the history of cinema, specifically the move from silent movies to "talkies". When Kelly performed the title track, Singin' in the Rain, I watched with amazement. I wanted to dance along with Kelly. It wasn't until I took a tap dancing class about 5 years ago that I attempted to learn the real dance that Kelly performs (this experiment in tap dancing didn't last as long as the actual film). Regardless, I love this scene in the movie. When Kelly jumps on the lightpost, throws his arms out to the side to let the rain cascade down on his face, when he takes off into the middle of the street, kicking puddles...all of it makes me feel the emotion of "come on with the rain".



All of this love for musicals would have you thinking that I watch nothing but musicals. Not true. I like the genre of the musical. I think it has to be well done. For someone who likes movies and likes music, I would assume that these two combined in this format would have a pretty good chance of pleasing me. Again, not always true.

Case in point. This past weekend I watched the movie Sweeney Todd. When I hear the phrase "modern day musical", I always think...tricky, very tricky. For some reason this genre does not always apply so well to modern day movies. There is something awkward at times about watching our favorite actors belt out a tune. Now, there have been some modern day musicals I have enjoyed. I liked Chicago. Yes, the one with Queen Latifah. I also enjoyed Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You. Dancer in the Dark was also a fine musical. I'm not sure what the trick is to making a modern day musical successful, but it is a fine line.

And I was even more sure of this after watching Sweeney Todd. I don't know exactly where it went wrong, but there was something between the plot, characters, lyrics, and music that just didn't work for me. I couldn't dig it, even though I really hoped I would.

The sheer goofiness and quirkiness of the "musical" made me start thinking about other films that were nominated the same year for awards. I started thinking about if they had also been produced as a musical. Would No Country for Old Men make a fascinating musical?

I do recognize that I'm leaving out one of the more recent musicals that has received critical acclaim. I haven't seen Once yet, but will update you on my opinions about the modern day musical when I have.

Tricky, very tricky.