Walking

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2008)

Musical movies are movies after all, and even a good musical play can be a bad, bad movie.
This is a bad bad movie, made by someone who is not a filmmaker. No Julie Taymor here: her stage skills do not translate well to the screen and in fact every single cinematic device here is borrowed, many even from "Sound of Music."
But its still an enjoyable experience. The girl is pretty and there are is a staging of a wedding that will color fantasies for a hundred years. The songs, even in their versions here, are gloriously catching. They all seem to have been designed to walk, walk, walk, hold, so even by listening you are dancing; the prancing we see is only a reminder, clothes exaggerated to highlight the important parts.
The only affecting thing in the performances is that Meryl gives the impression that she is having fun. And we enjoy that, especially a bit after the credits start. She's near sixty and I imagine has a long life yet. Its good to see this energy, good to see a 60 year old playing a 40 year old getting married.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.