A chore to sit through

Rating: Null/10 (8 December 2002)

I went in expecting to be entertained. The production design was beautiful but the whole thing was edited so quickly I became dizzy. I sat through the whole film, but it was work. A film shouldn't be this hard to sit through. I wasn't crazy about the use of many of the popular songs (Like a Virgin) just seemed silly. And then the dancing - the dancing was completely upstaged by the editing. Did any one really dance in this film? Or did the choreography just have his dancers walk pass the camera and then piece together the footage in the editing room? I'm guessing some of those who say this is the best musical they have ever seen, have never seen a musical film in the theater (since no good ones were made in the last 17 years) But films like "Grease" and "Cabaret" were certainly better than this mess (and used original songs). I actually feel bad for the costume designer and the cinematographer who did wonderful work, which isn't on the screen long enough to be taken in or appreciated. I just hope the next wave of musical films doesn't follow the editing of "Moulin Rogue" definitely a missed opportunity.
Better as a coffee table book.