Silly good fun!

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2008)

Moulin Rouge is a great musical. It pushes the boundary of musicals in the way that many good recent movies have done: by mixing and mashing existing forms. Compared to say, The Matrix, Moulin Rouge has much more crazy mixing, but less finessing (not to say that the Matrix couldn't use more finessing). I particularly indulged in the thought that Moulin Rouge merges Disney with pornography. I doubt this sat well with the "Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever" crowd.
I believe that musicals are best enjoyed as musicals. As a rule, the construct will bare its seams because of the fact that people simply don't break out simultaneous into song. For most traditional film-lovers, this will be a huge hurdle as the expectations of seamless film-making originates with the likes of Kubrick and Coppola and pop culture simply doesn't have the class to out do it.
And while we're talking about class, the dirty down inside theory is that musicals, as per Bollywood, as per the main role of music in almost any country, is to serve as an aphrodisiac for the masses. Conversely, a high-brow is someone who proclaims to have found something more interesting than sex. The two sides are not likely to ever agree very much and for a class targeted piece like Moulin Rouge, disagreements on its quality are as eternal as the class differences that draw the lines.
Even the most clever of musicals- "Cabaret" (1972) has its kinks. And the glorious musicals of old like "Footlight Parade" (1933) consistently have flimsy story lines that serve as loose filler between the fantastic musical vignettes.
I got my kicks from the movie through the numerous times it cleverly breaks the fourth wall. Also I couldn't help but muse at the supposition where I could write/sing like the lead character. Having many musicians as friends and once being a fledgling musician myself, I know it's an effective vehicle of seduction.
Ah, but how very low-brow of me!