Really, really boring.

Rating: 1/10 (28 March 2003)

A had great expectations when I rented this movie, having just seen Chicago. I am also a rather big fan of musicals, thoug mostly the Broadway-style, which is often a bit different tha movie-style. Anyway, I sat down with a friend to whatch this. And about an hour into the movie we turned it of. Why? Because it was really, really boring. Let's go through this one fault at a time, and keep in mind that I didn't whatch all of it, so if it turns brilliant after an hour or so, please accept my apologies:

The singing. Meaning the voices and performances of the actors. Not really too bad. But still, someone who could really sing would have been better. It is after all a musical.

The music. Dreadful. Sure, in theory it seems like a good idea to take many different, but good songs, take a bit of this and a bit of that, and give it all the same sound, more or less. But it is just terrible. No song they sing can ever rise above the fact that you have heard it better elsewhere. Not only that, much of the music doesn't fit in, and the whole score is rather weak.

The plot. I really do believe that I could have written a better one myself. There are no surprises, and it is in no way original. This is the greatest dissapointment in the film, that the plot is so transparrent. If you like it because it is a tragic lovestory, there are so many better films out there. Someone compared this movie to west side story. Not a too original plot there either, but the mood and music, not to say the dancing, is completely in another league.

The editing. A bit more personal opinion here; I just didn't like it. Too many scenes were chaotic.

I believe that was all. I gave this movie a 1, maby a bit prejudiced by the fact that so many gave it a good rating. I hate it when people admire that which should not be admired. Both me and my friend are interested in films, and have through this developed the sort of expertise that all reviewers here claim to have. This is not a macho-attack on a chick-flick, it is a reflected review of a really boring film.