Worthwhile for McGregor & Broadbent

Rating: 5/10 (16 July 2002)

I saw 'Romeo and Juliet' so had some sense of what Baz puts on a screen. For a lot of this movie, his style is appropriately over-the-top and gives the movie a ton of life.
Then it drags some in the middle and at the end. The level of intensity could not, I guess, be maintained, so you are left with some forgettably overlong dance & songs. 'Roxanne' took forever!
I didn't enjoy Nicole as much I had hoped to. I can see why she didn't win Best Actress. Its not that there is anything wrong with her, but she's not sympathetic enough to make you respond to her plight as much as you could have.
Jim Broadbent must have been really great in 'Iris', to have been nominated and won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for that movie instead of this one. He's electrifying as the owner of the club who is also a thoughtless pimp. Seeing him do a cover of 'Like a Virgin' was a highlight for me.

However, all good things emerge from Ewan McGregor's quantum leading man performance. He is emotional, he can sing like a bird, and he has the talent combined with the looks to make you love him like you are supposed to in the great tradition of Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Cary Grant. His underacting is perfectly suited to the movie and did I mention he sings his knickers off?
6/10, all for Ewan's talent and charm.