Chris Carwithen: Movie Musicals

FOOLISH RECOMMENDATIONS

If you’re like me you’re starving for theatre right now. More than that, you’re hungry for musicals. Ahhhh sweet, sweet musicals. While we wait for our glorious return to live theatre, here are a few movie musical suggestions that might brighten your isolation and help you remember that theatre is never far away, and that music has the power to heal.

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

This one goes top of my list for so many reasons. Of course everyone knows the dancing is insanely perfect, and each time I see this film I want to put my taps back on and go to town. The humor is on point with impeccably timed laughs. And everyone’s hero, Mr. Gene Kelly, has never been better. Best of all, the spectacle of this film has nothing to do with movie magic or extravagant sets (though it certainly has those too). The power of this musical simply comes from three incredible people dancing and singing. You taste the charm and the adrenaline in every scene. And let me tell you, that is one tasty combo.

I was lucky enough to be cast in this musical in college as Cosmo (wall-running backflip and all) and I can tell you this show gave me one of the greatest thrills of my career. I promise the thrills will come for you too if you choose to watch this film today. Simply incredible.

(Rent it on Apple TV, YouTube, etc, for $3.99)

MARY POPPINS RETURNS

Guys, I have to tell you something. I was never a massive fan of the original Mary Poppins, and in fact I hadn’t even seen it all the way through until 3 or 4 years ago. But when I saw this film in cinemas near the end of 2018, I proudly called it my favorite movie of the year.

This film perfectly captures the spirit of the original; every new song magically fits into the already established world, the characters each have brilliant moments to shine in musical numbers ranging from spectacular to heart-wrenching, and the tone of the film walks the line between melancholy and joy so well that your body will somehow simultaneously weep and cackle for the entire duration of the film. It’s weird, I know. But so worth it. 

(Watch it on Netflix!)

MOULIN ROUGE

One of my absolute favorite movie musicals, this sucker has so much going for it that they finally wised up and turned it into a live stage musical like we all knew they should have the second we saw it. While this movie is allllll about spectacle, the love story between its two protagonists, Satine (the beautiful star of the Moulin Rouge) and Christian (my dream role for the past 20 years) is what truly makes this an enduring piece of storytelling. 

It also helps that it has a soundtrack so strong that it could kill an elephant.

(Check it out on HBO NOW, now!)

LA LA LAND

No it didn’t win best picture. Yes I’ve only actually seen this movie once when it first came out. Yes it has Ryan Gosling singing it in. But despite all of that, this puppy is one beautiful, memorable piece of movie musical history. There is so much to like about this honest tale of people falling in love while trying to sing, dance, and survive in the nightmare hellscape we call Los Angeles. 

If you haven’t yet seen it, it’s a lovely homage to the movie musicals of old. If  you’ve already seen it, watch it again. It’s even better than you remember. At least… I hope it is.

(Rent it on Apple TV, YouTube, etc, for $3.99)

SOME LIKE IT HOT

Nope, it’s not a musical. Yes, you should still watch it. This 1959 film starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe inspired a musical stage adaptation in 1972 called SUGAR. I’ve put Some Like It Hot on this list to get you prepped and excited for the day when you finally have the opportunity to see Sugar. You can thank me later.

(Watch it on Amazon Prime right now!)

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

I know. I know. This is the one. This is the one I will get my musical theatre card revoked for. I knowingly accept this. But in spite of many, many glaring problems with this film, I’ll be damned if I don’t enjoy the heck out of it anyway. Johnny Depp can’t sing (which I think actually works well for this). Helena Bonham Carter is… Helena Bonham Carter. Tim Burton’s one whacky son-of-a-biscuit, but he created an atmosphere that I think fits this story perfectly. And the music was already so powerful that it would take a lot more than this film to ruin it.

I still recall my college theatre professor stating that he uses the dvd of this movie as a coffee coaster in his home, because that’s the only thing it’s good for. He said it’s absolutely nothing compared to the stage version. And maybe that’s why I’m one of the few who can actually stomach this movie; I’ve never actually seen the stage version.

Here’s my musical theatre card. 

(Watch it on Netflix!)


 

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