Silly, campy fun that could have been a lot better

Rating: 6/10 (8 June 2001)

Well, I definitely didn't hate Moulin Rouge like I feared but there were times I felt like hiding my head with a blanket. In all honesty, if you get through the first 15 or so minutes and see what they are doing, you find yourself getting into this rather silly but still fun flick.
I had a few complaints though - the frenetic camera movement (particularly in the beginning scenes), the really absurd added touches such as a fake moon smiling and others, and the inability to slow down to see the characters create the story rather than have to narrate what is going on.

This is absolutely not a film for everyone. I can see where the novelty of the film is a real positive and the special effects were amazing. Sure, the story has been done a billion times but it's a good story if a little saccharine. I don't mind mush as long as it's honest mush - this film struck me as being honest mush.
I liked the acting overall but this is the sort of film that didn't really call for heavy acting from the leads which was a little disappointing. Jim Broadbent has been one of my favorites for a while and I thought he did a great job. I've always found myself impartial to Ewan McGregor and I just enjoy watching him on screen period. I thought both he and Nicole Kidman had "okay" voices but I think if you took away some of the echoing and effects, they would have sounded a bit flat. It almost looked like Kidman was lip-synching in a few scenes which I'm sure she was.

I give it an "A" for effort and I loved the originality - parts of the film were quite memorable and good. But it just wasn't enough to sustain an entire film and it sort of missed it with the frenetic editing, the over simplified story, and too silly, cringeable touches.