giving credit to Ewan and Nicole for trying...

Rating: Null/10 (1 June 2001)

While this film is not the greatest anything of anytime, it serves its purpose as a fairly entertaining summer movie. There is some value to sampling (ask Puff Daddy), not much but it does take a certain amount of creativity (not originality). I think that Baz did a decent job in mixing a verity of songs done by artists that are unlikely to collaborate otherwise. The result is a well constructed 2 hour music video featuring the work of artists ranging from excellent to halfway decent. Despite the occasional missed notes, some credit has to be given to Ewan and Nicole for doing their own singing. It's quite rare these days that big Hollywood star would risk being totally ridiculous (John Travolta is an exception). As for their acting, I believe is just as good or as bad as that of most musicals on film. If the acting is too good in a film such as this, it may even be distracting and out of place. This film is not for everyone, some people may like it some may not. Frankly, it's not even a good film but that doesn't mean that it's not worth seeing or being made. The mass entertainment value is present and the profit made would open up opportunities for other more sophisticated films. Often times people prefer the cheap thrills of a cheesy action flick to the 3 hour art-house epic anyway. I think that Moulin Rouge is somewhere in between the art-house and the commercial. The plot, the songs and the stars made the film commercial by nature but the Cinematography and costumes are quite "well made" as in an art-house period piece. I predict this film to be a box-office success while receiving moderate reviews.