Bye Bye Birdie
Cast
Janet Leigh as Rosie DeLeon
Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson
Ann-Margret as Kim McAfee
Maureen Stapleton as Mama Peterson
Bobby Rydell as Hugo Peabody
Jesse Pearson as Conrad Birdie
Paul Lynde as Harry McAfee
Mary LaRoche as Doris McAfee
Michael Evans as Claude Paisley
Robert Paige as Bob Precht
Gregory Morton as aBorov
Bryan Russell as Randolph McAfee
Milton Frome as Mr. Maude
Ed Sullivan as Himself
Directed by George Sidney
Rater #2 has Description and review
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
6/10. Please note that I didn't see the film in one piece, so my review
might have been different if I saw it all together.
In the opening of Bye Bye Birdie, Kim McAfee (Ann-Margaret) is
singing the title song (which happens to be reprised at the end). It
turns out that the star of the song, an Elvis-like Conrad Birdie
(Jesse Pearson), is going to be drafted into the army. Not being
alive in the Elvis days, I thought that everyone was overreacting
whenever Birdie came on. But I supposed it's one of those "you had to
be there" things.
Meanwhile, Albert Peterson (Dick van Dyke) and Rosie DeLeon (Janet
Leigh) are planning to get married. If only Albert could tell his
mama (Maureen Stapleton). Albert wrote a song for Birdie to sing on
the Ed Sullivan show when Birdie gives a good-bye kiss to someone
from the fan club. That's right, it's Kim McAfee.
In Kim's small town, everyone is excited, except for her steady
boyfriend Hugo Peabody (Bobby Rydell) and her father Harry (Paul
Lynde). So mishaps occur, including chemical mixes that make people
go at quick speeds.
There are great songs, such as Lynde's "Kids" song, which has become
classic. The songs, however, didn't occupy a lot of the film (which
runs under two hours!), unlike other musicals, such as The Music Man.
They had great stretches without song, and then three of them
clustered together. It could have been more evenly distribuited
throughout the movie and even had made the movie longer.
There really wasn't much of a plot to Bye Bye Birdie. It went
from "No, you can't go on the Ed Sullivan show" to "Let's speed up
the ballet dancers". It was connected, but if someone asked you to
plot it in one sentence, you wouldn't be able to. I had to write
three paragraphs to sum it up, which is two over what I usually do.
Lynde is basically hilarious as Mr. McAfee. He actually has a good
voice (I knew him previously from The Hollywood Squares), and can put
in perfect comic timing. Ann-Margaret was really good, also, as is
the rest of the cast. On the down side of things, I didn't think
Pearson was that great as Birdie (who was only in a couple of
scenes). He didn't have a good voice and seemed too smug.
Bye Bye Birdie was pretty funny, but not steady. As previously
mentioned, Lynde was really funny with his odd voice and sardonic
tone. He says once, "Next time I have a daughter, I hope it's a boy."
The movie also tries to take it too seriously at some points, and
then at other points it is totally irreverant. And the ballet dancing
scene was a little too long. If they needed to cut it from its four
minute length, didn't they show it for at least four minutes?
Bye Bye Birdie is a musical with great songs but an uneven plot that
will probably delight you.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie
Rated G
Running time: 112 minutes
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