Musicals are some of my favorite movies. So what if they’re not realistic? When people burst into song, it’s fun, it’s expressive, and I enjoy listening. Musicals have been coming back into style with the advent of movies and TV shows aimed at a younger audience, like High School Musical and Glee. Here are my top ten musicals.
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds headline this country musical. It’s about just what the title says – a whorehouse in Texas. It’s got fun music, and will make anyone laugh. It’s not terribly appropriate for kids, obviously. It’s got a very upbeat tone, mostly. Dom DeLuise makes an appearance, as well, as an over-the-top reporter looking to close down the whorehouse, which is called the Chicken Ranch. Favorite quote: “Just lotsa good will and maybe one small thrill – but there’s nothin’ dirty goin’ on!”
Grease & Grease 2 – Most people have seen Grease, with John Travolta and Olivia newton-John, but hardly anyone has seen the sequel, which starts Michelle Pfeiffer in a similar role to Travolta’s Danny. Maxwell Caulfield plays the good boy, an echo of Sandy from the original movie. Grease was based on a Broadway musical, and has much of the same music; the feel of it is 50s showtunes with a little bit of rock added in. Grease 2 edges into more 70s rock. The music from the original Grease is definitely better, but there are some interesting numbers in grease 2, as well. Both stories are bad boy/girl meets good boy/girl, but can’t be with them because of what their respective social groups expect. Favorite Quote from Grease: “If you can’t be in athlete, be an athletic supporter.” Grease 2: “Let’s do it for our country, the red white and the blue; it’s Uncle Sam who’s asking so your mother would approve.”
Moulin Rouge – In 2001, Moulin Rouge was released, starring Nichole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. It’s one of several examples of musicals coming back into style. Most of the songs are made from other sings pieced together, or sung differently. The old classics Your Song by Elton John and Roxanne by The Police are both refurbished and used in the course of the movie, with plot that actually aligns to the songs. Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, and Nirvana music all appear. Moulin Rouge is, before anything else, a love story. It has a sad ending, though. Favorite quote: “Love is like oxygen. Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love!”
Enchanted – What if a Disney character ended up in current-day new York City? Well, watch Enchanted and see what Disney thought. Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey star in this movie about learning to both be happy, and to be a real person. Most of it is filmed, but there are animated parts, as well. If you ever wanted to see Susan Sarandon as an evil Disney Queen, this is your movie. Amy Adams have a lovely, perfectly princess voice, and Dempsey is a great realist-cum-romantic. It’s topped of by a spectacular, huge musical number set in central park. Favorite quote: “He knows it too? I’ve never heard this song!” (Dempsey’s character, when character spontaneously begin singing the same song.)
Rent – Another Broadway conversion, Rent was a hugely popular show that dealt with themes of race, love, sex, homosexuality, and AIDS. Most of the original cast came to the movie intact. The soundtrack stayed very true to the Broadway soundtrack, with some tweaking so it would fit the film medium better. Favorite quote: “You’re living in America at the end of the millennium, you’re living in America, leave your conscience at the tone.”
Chicago – Another Broadway show made film. It’s another that’s less appropriate for the kids; many of the costumes are revealing. The use of music is sort of an envisioning by the characters of their lives as musicals. Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones headline this one. Favorite quote: “You’re gonna be a star, Kiddo.”
Oliver! – A 1968 musical adapted from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Some parts are hard to follow without having read the novel, but the music is solid and you might catch a local production of it too, if you’re watching for kids’ theater. I’m not sure kids would understand the movie, which seems to concentrate on the adult parts of the story more than the childrens. Oliver and Company might be another adaptation that kids would enjoy more. Favorite quote: “…Go to Timbuktu? And back again. I’d do anything, for you dear, anything…”
Phantom of the Opera – Another Broadway adaptation. Fans of the Broadway soundtrack are mixed when it comes to the movie, since many of the originally sung parts are now speaking, but the music has stayed true as well. Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote the musical, and also helped with the adaptation of his music to the movie. It’s a darker story of love and obsession.
Fiddler on the Roof – A story about a poor Jewish family in Pre-Revolutionary Russia. The music is very catchy, and the characters are interesting. Even if people don’t realize it, they’ll recognize the song Matchmaker, “Matchmaker Matchmaker bring me a match.” Favorite quote: “I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t You choose someone else?”
