Well, this is a lot easier than naming the ones I hate, that would take ages... But I'm glad to see that very few people here like the worst ones.
I usually like musicals in spite of the music rather than because of it. I find that when the story is going along fine and people throw their arms out and start belting out a tune, I feel enormously betrayed. I was just getting into the plot and here they go, singing. Really tedious. It's even worse when they start camping it up.
But I do love Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris (Gershwin after all) despite the corny moments. In fact, with some exceptions, Gene Kelly is thumbs up most of the time (I think it's the stunts).
Also Fred Astaire. Finian's Rainbow is another one I like, though the story interests me more. It's a surprisingly frank look at racism, more surprising because it's a comedy. A white bigot is punished by being turned into a black man, among the other strange moments that crop up... But I don't mind the music, some of it is even nice.
I like Gilbert and Sullivan, but I guess those are operettas.
Of the classic musicals, or what I think of as the classic musicals, I can only stand a couple... The Music Man and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And of those two, I have to skip a lot of the songs. I have no use for the singing of Jane Powell, not much for Howard Keel, and definitely none at all for Buddy Hackett. But the stories are pretty good and some of the musical routines (Marion the Librarian, that one with the guys swinging the axes and moaning about their girlfriends, the barn raising dance).
But my favorite musical, hands down, is Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Here's a clip:
In this, they have both missed the train (in Switzerland where they were traveling with separate parties) as well as their friends and her luggage, which were on the train. She was ticked off because it was his fault but ended up traveling with him because, well, her stuff was on the train, she's kinda stuck. That night he manages to rent someone's spare room which she is unwilling to share with him so they end up in the barn (I guess that doesn't bother her as much). But it's cold and he pulls out a bottle of cognac (saying it's to keep warm, not sure how that works). She asks if he isn't ashamed to drink in front of a girl. He says it's better than dying in front of a girl, lays down and goes to sleep. She gets desperate in the night, apparently, and tries some cognac herself... thus he wakes to some very wobbly singing...
Oh, and surprisingly, after all that, nothing happens. But he lets her think it did for a few minutes because he's kind of a stinker.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vbj2Xx_Q-Y[/youtube]
This can be seen in its 3-hour length on Veoh if you dosnload their player. I haven't, I have it on tape. But just so you know. There's more to it than comedy scenes, but plenty of laughs anyway. The film played for an unearthly number of weeks in India and it's one of my favorite films, not just favorite musicals.
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"Pack up my head, I'm goin' to Paris!" - P.W.
The world loves diversity... as long as it's pretty, makes them look smart and doesn't put them out in any way.
There's the road, and the road less traveled, and then there's MY road.
02 Nov 2010, 2:06 pm
