I'll Never Forget!

Rating: 2/10 (25 June 2008)

I was bitterly disappointed with this film, especially since I love the actors in this cast.
Having recently watched Ray Winston's portrayal, (far from his best work but fairly convincing and considerably better than Beowulf) I expected this all star cast, Tim Burton production, to be, at the very least, entertaining. How wrong was I? Bearing in mind that this is a musical, only one song in the movie manages to carry any communication at all. From start to finish, the soundtrack emulates a monotonous grandmother humming an unidentifiable tune. There is no memorable tune, melody or chorus and I found it very difficult to determine what was being said in the songs. Had I not known the story I would have been totally lost.
On the up side, Burton's London was quite convincing in a Hollywood kind of way but then that is his forte. The Cockney accents were fair and the actors performances tremendous considering what they were working with. Alan Rickman was sadly wasted, Timothy Spall looked fantastic but his dialogue let him down.
A musical horror is hard to pull off but Rocky Horror Show and Little Shop Of Horrors managed it. The reason - good songs that explained what was going on and got the viewer involved in the story. There was also a good balance of dialogue and song. In Sweeney Tod the balance falls in favour of the songs but since the songs are weak, this is a negative attribute.
I find it hard to believe this film is rated 8 out of 10. I can't be the only viewer to feel this way?