Tag: Musicals

A Not Great Beat Beneath My Feet

The Beat Beneath My Feet

The Beat Beneath My Feet

Directed by John Williams
Written by Michael Müller

The review:

Only because of Luke Perry did I watch this and though there is ample Luke Perry,* I was not blessed with a good movie, though it does stop well shy of being terrible.** It’s the kind of movie where things happen because plot requires*** rather than unfolding organically. The music was fine.****

The verdict: Skip

Cost: free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*And god bless Luke Perry for imprinting on me in the 90s, but can we talk about his range? I feel like he does what he does well: attentive stares, sad eyes, thoughtful performances. But I don’t know if I’ve seen him step outside those things. Please weigh in with your input.
**Sometimes boring movies are worse.
***How exactly did this famous singer with an American accent get away with living on the dole in London under an assumed name? Do they have unemployment benefits for non-citizens there? Perhaps they do and I’m thinking of the USA’s attitude toward welfare. But really, no one recognized him? Also, was there no other sympathetic sort at school than the hot girl?
****Though if you are looking for a sad people musician story, might I recommend Song One?

Questions:

  • What would you have done to spruce this movie up?
  • Who’s your favorite sad musician in real life?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Luke Perry is left handed and his character writes left handed in the film, but plays guitar right handed.

Other reviews of The Beat Beneath My Feet:

The Beat Beneath My Feet

Song One: Music and Emoting

Song One

Song One

Written and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland

The review:

This film is a must-see for people who like to watch Anne Hathaway emote, like quiet films with lots of time for thinking, or perhaps would like a tour through concerts of indie musicians playing in NYC/Brooklyn circa 2015.* It’s a great film for twining pain (a brother in a coma) with the pleasure of connecting through music. It also had me reflecting about the sounds around us and how they often go unnoticed.**

The verdict: Good

Cost: $1.99 via Redbox On Demand. Arrrgh! Have just discovered it’s on Hoopla and I could have watched it for free!
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Essentially, this is the perfect “me” movie.
**Plus, after watching this, Emma. and the TV series Love Sick I’ve concluded that Johnny Flynn plays essentially the same character every time. But he’s picked a good character to play.

Questions:

  • Which was the most interesting relationship in this film: Franny and her mother, Franny and her brother, Franny and James Forester
  • How did Franny’s anthropologist training influence her attempts to bring her brother out of the coma?
  • Why is this called Song One?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The steel guitar that Johnny Flynn’s character James Forester is often seen with is his own guitar and is featured in many of his music videos.

Other reviews of Song One:

Song One

Teen Spirit Teaches You to Relax Your Jaw

(and other handy things to know about singing)

Max Minghella’s Teen Spirit is so very blah that if not for the electrifying performance at the end, it would not at all be worth watching.* Elle Fanning’s Violet is so tamped down in her emotions that even as her star started rising, I didn’t feel much of anything. This is the kind of film that doesn’t even inspire me to write three sentences.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*As is, it’s still not worth watching, but that end performance was a good payoff for my boredom.

Consider watching instead:

Questions:

  • What would have perked this film up?
  • What did you think of Elle Fanning’s accent work?
  • Can you name the Beatle’s song that mentions the Isle of Wight?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

In an interview with Hollywood XYZ, Director Max Minghella confirmed that all of Elle Fanning’s singing in Teen Spirit in the film is real and in fact recorded live, not in post-production.

Other reviews of Teen Spirit:

That Thing You Do! Does it Well

That Thing You Do!

The review:

Tom Hanks’s That Thing You Do is a gentle pleasure of a movie from start to finish, capturing all that was shiny about 1964.* In this breezy movie, Tom Everett Scott (Guy Patterson) is the anchor to the Wonder’s skyrocketing fame, while Johnathon Schaech (Jimmy) is a “serious” musician teed up to have problems with fame.** Liv Tyler’s big speech falls flat, which I’m blaming on the writing and not the performance,*** and there are a few things that cause discomfort in 2020,**** but overall, this movie is a good distraction.

The verdit: Good

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home (as a palate cleanser after watching Monster. I had no idea I would get to see Charlize Theron twice in one night. She plays a girlfriend.)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*This is a baby boomer nostalgia film for sure. Which doesn’t keep it from still being fun.
**More fun than the both of them: Steve Zahn as Lenny the guitarist.
***This is a male-centered film.
****There’s a little bit of Magical Negro going on with Bill Cobbs’s Del Paxton, and Obba Babatundé’s Lamarr would have been nice to have something to do besides be the cheerful servant.

Questions:

  • How long will that song be stuck in your head?
  • Which is your favorite time the Wonders (or the Oneders) perform “That Thing You Do”?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Including full versions, alternative versions, live versions and snippets, the song “That Thing You Do” is heard eleven times in the movie.

Other reviews:

That Thing You Do!

The Greatest Showman is Perfect Pandemic Viewing

The Greatest Showman

The review:

The overlap of the Venn Diagram of Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman and the actual facts of P.T. Barnum’s life is probably a slim sliver, but that does not take away from the fact that this is a very good movie musical.* Casting the living greatest showman (Hugh Jackman) helps, but so do the dance numbers** and the songs, many of which have a meter that is designed to pep the most lugubrious of people. The visual styling*** is also great and everyone turns in excellent performances.****

The verdict: Good

The verdict during a pandemic: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library (one of two DVDs I checked out before the library closed for pandemic purposes*****)
Where watched: at home.

Consider also watching:

  • The Music Man
  • Sound of Music
  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
  • Singing in the Rain
  • Mary Poppins
  • Mary Poppins Returns

Further sentences:

*Particularly when quarantined due to a pandemic. The hopeful and stalwart songs are just right for our times.
**”Rewrite the stars” has catapulted to my top-ten list of musical numbers.
***My copy had a making-of feature which explained why there were paintings of the film shown during the credits. This was a feature that made me like the film even more. The story behind the story is also inspiring.
****If I were an actor, I would aspire to Michele Williams interesting and varied career, and I also am interested in the turns Zac Efron takes. Long after I’ve forgotten the details of the film, Keala Settle will remain the thing I love about this movie.
*****I stayed away from this due to tepid reviews, and I’m kind of glad. It was the movie I needed right now.

Questions:

  • What’s a movie that came to you at just the right time?
  • What’s the most important element in a musical?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

According to Hugh Jackman, the film’s nine-year development process from conception to completion was, in part, due to studios’ unwillingness to take a risk on an original musical. What finally sold the deal at 20th Century Fox was the future Oscar-nominated song “This is Me”, which had literally been written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul during the two-hour flight to the studio meeting where the film was greenlit.

The Greatest Showman

Purple Rain: Excellent Musical Performances

(not great everything else)

Purple Rain

The review:

I’m thankful that Albert Magnoli’s Purple Rain exists, not because of the acting (not good) or the plot (mostly terrible), but because I never got to be a young person watching an ascendant Prince play at a small club in Minneapolis and if it weren’t for this movie, I wouldn’t ever have that opportunity. This is a movie where women are easily discarded objects* and with a main character who, even though we see what demons are driving him, isn’t likable,** and the plot had me drifting off to sleep more than once. But when Prince gets on stage, every synapse snapped to attention.***

The verdict: Skip

(Or watch only for the performances)

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Example: a woman asks a man where he was last night and the man has another man throw her into a dumpster.
**As noted, he is not a good actor. He is particularly bad at kissing while acting, which just looked gross.
***Good lord, could that man perform. Morris Day and the Time were great too.

Questions:

  • Is it worth watching a terrible movie for the performances when only 25% of the movie is performances?
  • Have you seen Prince in anything good?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

An early, simpler version of the unpronounceable symbol that Prince changed his name to during his dispute with Warner Bros. Records is painted on the side of his motorcycle’s gas tank. It also appears on a wall of the overpass he rides under during “When Doves Cry.”

Purple Rain

Homecoming is a film by Beyoncé

Homecoming A Film by Beyonce

The review:

In Homecoming, Beyoncé and Ed Burke capture the magic of Beyoncé’s 2018 Cochella performance which included a drum line, step dancing, tight choreography, a set that includes risers that look like a pyramid, and the power of Beyoncé’s music.* Interspersed with the action on stage are scenes of the planning and execution of this performance including information about why the show was delayed for a year and all of the personal physical preparation Beyoncé had to take to be ready.** This movie is for anyone who likes pageantry, anyone who likes to see how musical performances are created, and for sure, anyone who loves a drum line.***

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

  • 20 Feet from Stardom
  • Cabin in the Sky (though it’s from 1943 and thus racist, but the performances are great!)
  • Purple Rain
  • Dreamgirls

Further sentences:

*A true confession exposing my unfortunate proclivities to discount contributions by women and by women of color: After the first five minutes, I had the thought, “I wonder how much of this Beyoncé was around for? Did she slide in after it was all choreographed and put together?” This despite the title: Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé. Luckily for me, Beyoncé (the director!) anticipated that people might wonder such a thing and I soon realized that she was the creator of everything about this incredible performance. I’m calling out my racist and sexist thought to illustrate that I still have discounting thoughts like that, and I need to catch them when they happen.
**I love that she reported her exact weight before she gave birth to twins, and talked about the difficulties of getting her body into a specific shape in time for this performance. It was also painful to watch, and I wish we lived in a world where women could live in the bodies they have after they give birth.
***I am not a follower of Ms. Knowles’s music; I recognized two songs. This did not distract me from loving every minute of this movie.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Beyoncé was paid $8 million to perform at Coachella.
(This was the only trivia item)
(Also: good job Beyoncé)

Other reviews:

Homecoming A Film by Beyonce

Stop Making Sense is Phenomenal

Stop Making Sense

The review:

For most of my life, the Talking Heads have been ever present* and so I never prioritized Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense. This was a mistake, because from the first time David Byrne walks on stage this concert documentary is riveting. It’s fun to watch the set be built through the concert, it’s fun to watch the band slowly trickle in, it’s fun to watch the choreography,** and it breathed life into some very well-worn songs and made me hear them in a new way.***

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $2.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

  • Homecoming
  • 20 Feet From Stardom
  • The Wrecking Crew
  • Some Kind of Monster
  • The Last Waltz
  • (As in the Miss Americana review this is an aspirational list here. I’ve not seen any of them.)

Further sentences:

*I wouldn’t be surprised if the magic of the internet overlords told me I’d heard some part of “Once in a Lifetime” at least weekly since 1984.
**Which seemed very Jazzercise-esque at times.
***That said, I would have preferred a few more long shots and fewer closeups, because that choreography gets lost, though I have read that the closeups were very innovative at the time. I also love how the crew all came on stage to take a bow at the end. And! No encores in 1984!

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite concert documentary?
  • Could you like a concert doc of a band/musician/genre you didn’t like?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

David Byrne’s staggering during the latter part of “Psycho Killer” was directly inspired by Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding (1951) during the song “I Left My Hat In Haiti.”

(I have just watched the clip of this and did not find anything that looked like David Byrne’s staggering.)

Other reviews:

Stop Making Sense

Miss Americana: It’s Always Harder if You’re a Woman

Miss Americana

The review:

Lana Wilson shows different facets* of Taylor Swift in Miss Americana from her early days as a teenage country singer to her most current reinvention as a pop superstar.** I’m always a little leery of how accurate the portrayal of the subject is in documentaries of high-profile people—I’m cynical enough to suspect there is some give to get access—regardless, there’s a lot to chew on here.*** Also interesting was seeing how the kids today make music which seems to involve voice recorders on phones and not very many instruments.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

  • Amy
  • The Wrecking Crew
  • Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
  • 20 Feet from Stardom

(Note: I’m terrible at watching documentaries. This is a list of films I want to see!)

Further sentences:

*From awards show ready in a dress that didn’t let her lift her arms higher than her waist to writing songs without makeup and in lounge wear.
**Swift points out that women artists have to reinvent themselves 20 times more often then men do and that is on full display in this documentary.
***I loved that she discussed how seeing images of herself on a daily basis isn’t good for her and lead to disordered eating. It was interesting to see her weigh speaking out about a particular political candidate with potential fan reaction. The isolation was also interesting, and every scene with her cat was a winner.
****I’m always up for music creation sequences and it’s fun to watch the energy grow as the song comes into being.

Questions:

  • Has a documentary about a musician ever changed the way you thought about that person’s music?
  • What profile of a musician would you like see?

Other reviews:

Miss Americana

Also good: I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful.

Rocketman is Mostly a Disappointment

Rocketman

The review:

I had high hopes that Rocketman, Dexter Fletcher’s biopic of Elton John was going to bypass a lot of the biopic dreck and do something unusual* and these hopes were smashed on the shores of the very crowded Biopic Beach. So it is that we get much too many scenes of rock star excess** plus the movie’s jukebox musical format made everything confusing.*** I did enjoy the costumes (which are the usual perk of the biopic) and Taron Egerton’s performance, including watching his hair thin and recede.

The verdict: skip

(or watch it for the clothing)

Cost: $1.25 via Redbox
Where watched: at home (first movie of 2020!)

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*This was primarily because of the interesting levitation shown during the preview. I thought there would be more magical realism in the movie. While I think the levitation did nicely get across the feeling of “that was the night that everything started and everyone there knew it” there wasn’t much magical realism in this movie.
**Props for showing some bulimia to augment the standard drug/alcohol tropes. Eating disorders often go along with addiction and it is very rare to see a portrayal of a man with an eating disorder.
***The jukebox musical format worked better in Blinded by the Light where the songs of a singer were sung and danced to by people who are not the artist who produced the music. When Taron Egerton breaks into Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” while playing at the bar as a teenager and all the patrons start dancing I am perplexed. Is the movie saying that song was written then? Before he met Bernie Taupin? Also, the framing device of Elton John’s story being told while in rehab is not used constantly enough. It was distracting.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite biopic and why?
  • What films best use the jukebox musical format?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Bryce Dallas Howard is eight years older than Taron Egerton, who plays the adult version of her son. The age difference is of course explicable because the movie starts by depicting Elton John as a much younger child; the age difference between Howard and the children who play John at younger ages is a much more normal one for a mother and son.
(One again, I did not recognize Bryce Dallas Howard. She is so good at disappearing into her characters)

Other reviews:

Rocketman