Summary: I'm Exhausted! Fellini on Acid.

Rating: Null/10 (21 March 2002)

I spent over 20 years in N.Y. in theater...predominately musicals. I love them. Always have. I was a director, choreographer and performer. I did not expect to like this movie. Modern songs in a 1909 setting!? How dare Baz Luhrman. How dare he indeed. What he did is prove that this country's few contributions to theater and film (the 'broadway' musical format) can translate to film...if you have a genius behind it. How sad that the nay sayers missed the impact. I think men hated it because (in this country) if you like a movie like Moulin Rouge...you're probably a 'fag'. These same people probably didn't 'get' Fellini, either. I know it didn't have a lot of gun-play, naked crotch shots or enormous effects you've seen over and over...BUT it did have a genius at the wheel. How does a mind come up with this? I would love to sneak into his dreams and just sit back and watch. The cinematography, the art direction, the costumes are mind-blowing. I played the Fiddler in Fiddler On The Roof for over two years...was at the opening night of A Chorus Line, A Little Night Music, Follies...and on and on. I went into this movie with a jaded chip on my shoulder and got it promptly knocked off. Don't rip yourself off by listening to the critics and friends who are oddly afraid to let themselves like this movie. GO! RENT! BUY! Hell...steal it. Just watch it with a loose a--hole for 2 hours.