A mostly charming Hollywood musical about a struggling actress and struggling jazz musician and their struggling relationship. I wished there was more dancing and that Ryan Gosling’s singing was better.
Box Office Bottom Line: It was entertaining, although it fell apart at the end for me. I think it’s getting award season notice because Hollywood loves movies about itself.
THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!!! I’ve been a fan of Rodriguez for about four years, and I was curious about why I could only find one album from this kick-ass musician. Questions answered! Mind blown! In the special features, the director, cinematographer, and producer all describe the story behind this movie as a “fairy tale” and stranger than fiction, which it is. It makes me wonder how many other unsung heroes and wandering prophets are out there, screwed by the fickle music industry.
Rodriguez was a national superstar in South Africa, but had no inkling while he worked at manual labor for decades in Detroit. If you believe everything you hear from the interviews in this documentary, you might come away thinking that Rodriguez’s music single handedly brought down apartheid. He’s bigger than Elvis. People have his likeness tattooed on their bodies. And after he was brought to Cape Town in the mid-90s to perform for sold-out audiences, he’s now on the road, touring as the rock star he is.
And all is right with the world.
Box Office Bottom Line: Not to be missed! Three exclamation points!!!
I was completely obsessed with this musical when I was growing up. I had the soundtrack, listened to it incessantly, knew all the words to the songs. After the opening scene of this movie adaptation, it became crystal clear why I had delayed so long in watching it–it’s utterly miserable (and not it a good way)! There were a few high points, such as Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, and of course Hugh Jackman, and I guess the actress who played Eponine did a good job, but dearie me. The sets and coloring were this horrible gaudy affair that made me viscerally angry, and Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried’s singing was unfortunate. I won’t go on.
But this image makes it all better.
Box Office Bottom Line: Don’t suffer! Just see it live on stage.
Box Office Bombshells 