| The Phantom of the Opera |
| Thoughts: |
| Afterthoughts: |
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| How will they screw this up? Cynical, yes, but Broadway doesn't always translate well to the silver screen (see Closer). You all know who we have to thank for this resurgence of movie musicals, don't you? [snootiness] The Academy [/snootiness] would like you to think that it was Chicago, but they're wrong. Ohhh, so very wrong. The minute Blame Canada was nominated for Best Original Song, the essentially shouted "CLEAR," and defibrolated movie musicals. For this, I am grateful to Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I love Phantom. I played songs from it in junior high band, I bought the CD of highlights and learned it backwards and forwards, and it was the first exposure to broadway music I really ever had. This and Movin' Out were the only shows I would have risked sneaking out to see while I was in New York. I love Phantom. There aren't really any big-name stars in this, except Minnie Drive and she's playing the diva. She can sing. She can probably do a tolerable...woah, woah, woah. Minnie Driver isn't doing her own singing?! WTF? Why cast someone if they can't pull off the singing part of the role?! *rolls eyes* I must take time here to say thank GOD they didn't pick Charlotte Church or Anne Hathaway to play Christine. Charlotte Church would have screeched all the songs and Anne Hathaway would just annoy the hell out of me. Also, thank God Sarah Brightman isn't playing Christine. If I wanted to hear her sing, I'd listen to the CD. They seem to have kept everything from the show, but that's what I thought about Chicago and I was wrong. It still worked, but I was also still wrong. Hopefully, they haven't done anything to the Chandelier scene. From the trivia section on the exhaulted IMDB, it sounds like this is a great big love-fest for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Movie references to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Cats in the script? I'd heard the guy was an ego maniac, but this is ridiculous. The trailers look promising, though. Rich colors, lavish costumes, huge production numbers...it may not be a New York stage, but it just might be the next best thing. |
| What did I say? WHAT DID I SAY?!?! Change a couple of words in the songs. Fine. Insist on pop-ier vocals instead of proper singing in some places. I can live with that. The ONE thing I wanted them to get right in this...THEY SCREWED UP! That's right, folks. The chandelier. They moved the chandelier crash to the end of the movie instead of the end of Phantom's reprise of Music of the Night. It's the exclamation point at the end of the first act! It's an integral part of the show, you can't just move it in the storyline wherever the mood strikes you. ARGH! First Batman, now this. Can Joel Schumacher not screw up the storyline of any movie he touches? If that man never sets pen to screenplay ever again, it will be too soon. Other than that (and the 70-year-old couple, who should know better, editorializing behind my friend and I) , it was pretty damn good. Visually, it's beautiful. I mean, absolutely gorgeous. The costumes are elaborate and the camera shots enhance musical moments like another instrument. I could sit and watch it all day. The casting was great. Girard Butler and Patrick Wilson were wonderful and Emmy Rossum was much more appropriate, appearance-wise, as Christine than Sarah Brightman probably ever could have been. Minnie Driver was a hoot as Carlotta, though I still think they should have cast someone who could have handled the singing as well as the acting. |
| My Advice |
| Go see it and make a night of it. It would make a great date movie and it's very much worth the price of an evening showing. Any awards this movie gets are well deserved. I'm gonna go see it again. When does it come out on DVD? :-) |