Moulin Rouge! has the stature, not the insight of Talouse Lautrec, unfortunately

Rating: 3/10 (10 November 2002)

Moulin Rouge was a disappointment.
A musical needs its own music. Not only did Moulin Rouge! fail in that, but the music it had was well-known prior to the movie and identified with a modern era.
Indeed, each time the characters broke into song it yanked the viewer out of the 1899 setting of the movie. So well-known is the music that it seemed like even the most serious scenes were comedic, with the joke being the character partaking in anachronism.
The costumes, however, were wonderful. They suck the viewer into the period and feel of the movie.
Too bad the music causes the viewer "toulouse lautrec'' of time.