dum dee dum
Jan. 24th, 2003 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaydeefalls
Everything just kinda feels dead. Bleg. Need something different. Hence, iconage no longer limited to LotR and the actors therein. Three "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" icons added. Feel the Colin/Ryan love. Or something. Yeah. Go forth and be random!
Finally saw Chicago. Good stuff, that. Many things to love about that movie. I still like the original musical better, though. Possibly because I'm addicted to it and have seen it more times than any other Broadway show (thrice, to be exact. Hurrah for student tix!). My problems with the movie...well, nothing specific. I just love the show, is all. The movie is incredible, of course, and y'all should go see it ASAP. The director did a fabulous job of converting this rather, er, minimalist stage production into a lavish, gorgeous cinematographer's wet dream.
The original show HAD to be seriously rethought to work as a movie, and I respect that and enjoy the result. It's just that a lot of what I've always loved about this musical WERE things that could only work on a stage. Like Mary Sunshine -- who, for those who only know her in the movie, has a huge operatic aria-type number in the stage musical, and is supposed to be played by a man (but you would never guess it -- one of the show's greatest gags comes during the big trial, when "she" is, er, revealed for who he really is). Or a wide variety of stylistic elements -- the movie tells the story somewhat directly, whereas the musical implies it more. It's almost a musical revue, rather than a standard book musical. I am well aware that this would not translate well on the screen, so I certainly don't fault the director or writers of the movie. But the whole feel of the stage musical just appeals to me more. And I love the way the characters really interact with the band leader onstage -- there was a little of that in the movie (although I was too busy drooling over Taye Diggs to notice), but it's much more prominent in the show. And funny, and poignant, and wonderful. Could NOT have worked in a movie...but I missed it, all the same. ("My exit music, please!" ::cuddles stage!Amos::)
I won't go on and on about the six excellent songs that didn't make it into the movie, because, y'know, I can understand things like time constraints. If I can accept the editing room floor of LotR, I can accept it for Chicago. The one song they really should've left in is "Class" -- it's a wry, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, fucking hilarious little number between Mama and Velma, and goddamnit, I want to see Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones doing it! Argh. ("Everybody you watch / 'S got his brains in his crotch / Holy crap / What a shame / What became of class?") Velma's character suffered the most from the cuts, actually. Which is a pity, because she was played to perfection.
Big kudos also to Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. Love 'em. Renee Zellwegger was pretty good, too. Richard Gere annoyed the heck out of me -- such a good actor, but looked so uncomfortable in the song & dance numbers. Meh. I did love the way "We Both Reached for the Gun" turned out, though. Whee, puppets! Lots of puppets! And, heh, my absolute favorite Broadway!Velma (Deirdre Goodwin) was in the movie as one of the murderesses. The "he-ran-into-my-knife-ten-times" one. The only African-American one. Yeah, her. Best Broadway!Velma ever -- I'm so glad she had a part in the movie, too! Rock on.
You don't want me to go on, do you? All right, I'll shut up now. See the movie, it's excellent. And then come visit me in NYC, and I'll take you to see the REAL Chicago.
Finally saw Chicago. Good stuff, that. Many things to love about that movie. I still like the original musical better, though. Possibly because I'm addicted to it and have seen it more times than any other Broadway show (thrice, to be exact. Hurrah for student tix!). My problems with the movie...well, nothing specific. I just love the show, is all. The movie is incredible, of course, and y'all should go see it ASAP. The director did a fabulous job of converting this rather, er, minimalist stage production into a lavish, gorgeous cinematographer's wet dream.
The original show HAD to be seriously rethought to work as a movie, and I respect that and enjoy the result. It's just that a lot of what I've always loved about this musical WERE things that could only work on a stage. Like Mary Sunshine -- who, for those who only know her in the movie, has a huge operatic aria-type number in the stage musical, and is supposed to be played by a man (but you would never guess it -- one of the show's greatest gags comes during the big trial, when "she" is, er, revealed for who he really is). Or a wide variety of stylistic elements -- the movie tells the story somewhat directly, whereas the musical implies it more. It's almost a musical revue, rather than a standard book musical. I am well aware that this would not translate well on the screen, so I certainly don't fault the director or writers of the movie. But the whole feel of the stage musical just appeals to me more. And I love the way the characters really interact with the band leader onstage -- there was a little of that in the movie (although I was too busy drooling over Taye Diggs to notice), but it's much more prominent in the show. And funny, and poignant, and wonderful. Could NOT have worked in a movie...but I missed it, all the same. ("My exit music, please!" ::cuddles stage!Amos::)
I won't go on and on about the six excellent songs that didn't make it into the movie, because, y'know, I can understand things like time constraints. If I can accept the editing room floor of LotR, I can accept it for Chicago. The one song they really should've left in is "Class" -- it's a wry, sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, fucking hilarious little number between Mama and Velma, and goddamnit, I want to see Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones doing it! Argh. ("Everybody you watch / 'S got his brains in his crotch / Holy crap / What a shame / What became of class?") Velma's character suffered the most from the cuts, actually. Which is a pity, because she was played to perfection.
Big kudos also to Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. Love 'em. Renee Zellwegger was pretty good, too. Richard Gere annoyed the heck out of me -- such a good actor, but looked so uncomfortable in the song & dance numbers. Meh. I did love the way "We Both Reached for the Gun" turned out, though. Whee, puppets! Lots of puppets! And, heh, my absolute favorite Broadway!Velma (Deirdre Goodwin) was in the movie as one of the murderesses. The "he-ran-into-my-knife-ten-times" one. The only African-American one. Yeah, her. Best Broadway!Velma ever -- I'm so glad she had a part in the movie, too! Rock on.
You don't want me to go on, do you? All right, I'll shut up now. See the movie, it's excellent. And then come visit me in NYC, and I'll take you to see the REAL Chicago.
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Date: 2003-01-24 08:42 pm (UTC)And, mmm, how about a massive guest-performer orgy? Brad/Chip/Greg... ::drools:: Although, slashing Brad would be weird for me, because he bears a striking resemblance to my cousin. And that's just too...wrong, somehow.
Colin/Ryan = OTP? Hahaha!
Date: 2003-01-27 02:28 am (UTC)I love your icons, by the way.
And hmm, this is totally unrelated but I was working on an improv for the touch challenge thingy and sorta missed the time limit. But I'd still like to post it in my LJ. The only problem is that it's Elijah/SeanA, and I think it might be crap. So, do you think you could take a look at it for me? :)
Re: Colin/Ryan = OTP? Hahaha!
Date: 2003-01-27 01:47 pm (UTC)And, sure, I'll look over your fic. Send it over!