Terrible singing.

Rating: 3/10 (22 January 2002)

There have been very few movies I have purposely turned off before reaching the end (maybe two out of 1,000). This just made the list.
I dunno, maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind, but this movie was just a bad music video. It was loud, the plot was utterly predictable (I didn't need to see the end to know what happened), the "modern songs with period sets" was simply a gimmick without purpose, the pace was unnecessarily frenetic, and worst of all, THE MUSIC STUNK. I can deal with most of the other stuff, but when I watch a musical, I want the music to be good. Duh. Whoever says that Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor can sing are tone deaf. I'm a musician, and I know good music. This is not it.
Want a "I never knew he/she could sing!" movie? Michelle Pfeiffer in "Fabulous Baker Boys" does OK (not great). John Travolta in "Grease". Tom Hulce (Mozart in "Amadeus") in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Want a fast-paced, off-the-wall edited, frenetic movie? Requiem for a Dream.
Want a good musical? Little Shop of Horrors. Any Disney animation. The Wizard of Oz. The Sound of Music. Singing in the Rain. Heck, even Purple Rain (OK, it's more of a musical documentary, and the acting stinks, but you get my point).
Want good Ewan McGregor? Trainspotting. Even Phantom Menace.
Want good Nicole Kidman? Not sure what to tell you.
Want a quirky comedy? Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
Want a loud movie? The Fellowship of the Rings.
Anything but this movie.