Musical!
Sucker for musical numbers, right here.
Exhibit A:
Frank came over the other day and while flipping cable channels we wound up watching the last 15 minutes or so of Ella Enchanted, a movie that was probably pretty expensive, but looks really cheap because it wasn't expensive enough not to. Anyway, at the end all the characters suddenly break out into a choreographed rendition of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (or whatever that song may actually be called), and that reminded me of The 40-Year-Old Virgin ending with "Age of Aquarius," so I turned to Frank and said "You know, I support this trend of ending movies with out-of-the-blue musical numbers. Because why the hell not? Also, because I am a cheeseball."
Exhibit B:
Ali called me yesterday to tell me she had been digging around in her closet and found an old mixtape I had made for her simply labeled "Merry Christmas." On it was, you guessed it, song after song after song from various musicals. Good musicals, mind you. Sondheim, mostly. Probably some of the better Disney stuff (which in my opinion consists of the 2 1/2 films Ashman and Menken did, and Mary Poppins). Little Shop of Horrors. South Park. A few of the less egregious efforts from Tommy. And yes, damn it, at least one song from Rent. Ali told me her carpool wouldn't let her listen to it because it was "too cheesy." Let's see anyone from Ali's carpool write a song as funny as the reprise of "Agony" from Into the Woods!
So there you go. I honestly think there are few artforms that can be as, I don't know, transcendant as a great musical, and I also think there are few artforms more difficult to get right. Which is why I really like so few of them.
Exhibit A:
Frank came over the other day and while flipping cable channels we wound up watching the last 15 minutes or so of Ella Enchanted, a movie that was probably pretty expensive, but looks really cheap because it wasn't expensive enough not to. Anyway, at the end all the characters suddenly break out into a choreographed rendition of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (or whatever that song may actually be called), and that reminded me of The 40-Year-Old Virgin ending with "Age of Aquarius," so I turned to Frank and said "You know, I support this trend of ending movies with out-of-the-blue musical numbers. Because why the hell not? Also, because I am a cheeseball."
Exhibit B:
Ali called me yesterday to tell me she had been digging around in her closet and found an old mixtape I had made for her simply labeled "Merry Christmas." On it was, you guessed it, song after song after song from various musicals. Good musicals, mind you. Sondheim, mostly. Probably some of the better Disney stuff (which in my opinion consists of the 2 1/2 films Ashman and Menken did, and Mary Poppins). Little Shop of Horrors. South Park. A few of the less egregious efforts from Tommy. And yes, damn it, at least one song from Rent. Ali told me her carpool wouldn't let her listen to it because it was "too cheesy." Let's see anyone from Ali's carpool write a song as funny as the reprise of "Agony" from Into the Woods!
So there you go. I honestly think there are few artforms that can be as, I don't know, transcendant as a great musical, and I also think there are few artforms more difficult to get right. Which is why I really like so few of them.
posted by Jeff at 11:24 AM
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