tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post1843650867938204491..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: Why I Hate MusicalsSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-4120564366279408422017-03-08T14:07:27.465-06:002017-03-08T14:07:27.465-06:00Well, I won't take you to task for being enter...Well, I won't take you to task for being entertained by it. Howver, the title of this post certainly sums up my opinion of what I thought of it. <br /><br />There are some moments. I give it credit for "Good Morning," although that was certainly perfected in <i>Singin' in the Rain</i>. That said, there are too few charms here for me to want to watch it again anytime soon...or ever.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-35570285647020603902017-03-08T09:53:01.649-06:002017-03-08T09:53:01.649-06:00I seem to have liked this quite a bit more than an...I seem to have liked this quite a bit more than anybody else. Yeah, some of the songs were REALLY DUMB! Like the title song and God's Country, and I would be rolling my eyes and thinking "Here's the bad song." But then the camera would pull back and dozens or hundreds or thousands of these vaudeville kids would be building bonfires for some reason or creating a blackface swarm or dressing as Indians wearing spectacles. I couldn't find any fault with the production numbers. The minstrel-show number especially was OFF THE HOOK!<br /><br />Not to mention all the amusing bits of business like Baby Rosalie's weird acrobatics while warming up, Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the East River, Guy Kibbee, etc.<br /><br />I also like Old Hollywood's fascination with things like vaudeville and minstrel shows. They don't get much more minstrel-y than Babes in Arms! It is rather unfortunate that blackface, a form of entertainment based largely on making fun of black people) was so popular in America for the better part of a century. I've heard it called the first American pop music craze. (It started in New York in the 1820s.) The most popular blackface stars were popular enough to be compared to Elvis Presley by entertainment historians!<br /><br />There's nothing like a little old-timey Hollywood racism to liven up the proceedings.<br /><br />Babes in Arms certainly isn't Singin' in the Rain or The Harvey Girls or even Born to Dance. I don't think I'll ever watch Babes in Arms every New Year's Eve like I do with Shall We Dance. But I sure got a kick out of Babes in Arms while I was watching it last night. Oh, Mickey and Judy! They try so hard! They deserve to succeed! Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-64838704704428840592017-03-07T08:03:59.865-06:002017-03-07T08:03:59.865-06:00That really is about it. I wasn't a fan of thi...That really is about it. I wasn't a fan of this one, but <i>Babes in Arms</i> isn't really made for me. It's an almost pure distillation of everything I don't like about the musical genre.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-43408799910023694042017-03-06T01:34:30.442-06:002017-03-06T01:34:30.442-06:00TCM is showing Babes in Arms tomorrow and I'm ...TCM is showing Babes in Arms tomorrow and I'm excited that I'll finally see it. I should have seen it a long time ago! I'm not expecting it to be as good as 42nd Street or Shall We Dance or Footlight Parade but I love Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and I hope I'm not expecting too much thinking that there will be a few laughs and two or three wonderful crazy Hollywood musical numbers. Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921029597363212734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-87546843012329223472012-08-30T21:06:19.152-05:002012-08-30T21:06:19.152-05:00I have a mental disconnect with musicals. They lac...I have a mental disconnect with musicals. They lack verisimilitude because something that purports itself to be the real world has people suddenly singing and dancing with full orchestration. It bothers me in a real way. I can forgive those that are really great, but most just strike me badly. However, I have the complete Astaire/Rogers collection at home, so I can't be all bad.<br /><br />Hey, I think the same thing when someone tells me they don't love horror films. I think, "There are so many different kinds! How can you hate them all?"<br /><br />As for representing the genre--well, the films on this list are supposed to be the most important ones. They're not only supposed to represent the genre, but transcend it. When they don't (musical or any other genre), I'm disappointed.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-83640143000765629442012-08-30T20:51:49.900-05:002012-08-30T20:51:49.900-05:00How can you hate ALL musicals (or like a few "...How can you hate ALL musicals (or like a few "despite the genre")? They're all so different! You already mentioned Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (which I love); how about Fiddler on the Roof? Showboat (particularly Paul Robeson singing Ol' Man River - "I'm tired of livin, and scared of dyin.")? The Bandwagon, Brigadoon? <br /><br />You can find sweet and cheesy romps, somber historical themes, moving ballads with emotional and social relevance... it's just such a diverse genre to dismiss out of hand.<br /><br />Yes, some of these musicals were churned out by the numbers during their heyday; but that's because they were imitating wonderful, high-quality works that audiences turned out to see in droves, and that people still love today. Whether you love or hate them, you shouldn't view them as representative of the whole genre.Tippihttp://www.onthescreenreviews.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-47747361383017407492012-08-28T16:01:18.911-05:002012-08-28T16:01:18.911-05:00And this one is. I can appreciate the talent, but ...And this one is. I can appreciate the talent, but not the self-aggrandizing of "show people" that runs through this from top to bottom.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-76453028678756188902012-08-28T10:01:07.534-05:002012-08-28T10:01:07.534-05:00This is a perfect review of why I do not particula...This is a perfect review of why I do not particularly care for most musicals.<br /><br />"...at such an intensity that it’s almost parody of itself," is really the best way I could think to put it. I've never seen Babes in Arms, but it sounds like I've seen a lot of flicks like it. I can dig on any kind of movie, musicals included, but sometimes, yeah, they're annoying as all hell.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-39808543381957458792012-08-27T20:40:01.162-05:002012-08-27T20:40:01.162-05:00And that's really my issue here. I don't s...And that's really my issue here. I don't see any real joy in this--it's all tinsel and greasepaint with no substance underneath. Even though I dislike musicals like <i>Seven Brides for Seven Brothers</i>, I get why people like it, and I'm suitably impressed by the barn raising sequence. But I don't see why anyone likes this one.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-17155027740274275532012-08-27T15:43:51.968-05:002012-08-27T15:43:51.968-05:00I totally agree with you that this one stinks. My ...I totally agree with you that this one stinks. My specific reason is how false everything rings, from the youth rebellion to the defiance of the children and the “hurrah, we go a show!” And of course most of the songs themselves. The crazy thing is that Busby Berkeley did actually make some good musicals, the List has some good examples from the early thirties, but this one is just unbelievably miserable TSorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12208153011927807857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-12465729154816698652012-08-26T23:59:37.070-05:002012-08-26T23:59:37.070-05:00Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been surprised by the n...Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been surprised by the number of musicals I've really liked. This one, though, manages to do everything that I dislike about musicals and do it with sparklers and fanfare. <br /><br />Sorry, but I have a real issue with shows that essentially have nothing to say but "People who put on shows are special!"SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-83519104316903799492012-08-26T22:45:18.436-05:002012-08-26T22:45:18.436-05:00Ah, the musical grump strikes again! LOL
I'm a...Ah, the musical grump strikes again! LOL<br />I'm a fan of musicals, but they could have left this one out of the book for sure.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-50184829415676646892012-08-26T22:01:02.898-05:002012-08-26T22:01:02.898-05:00Star-spangled bukkake is a very apt description. ...Star-spangled bukkake is a very apt description. Musicals belong on a stage and rarely make a successful transition to film. But one can forgive those cliches knowing that Broadway theater was the environment Busby Berkeley was born into - it was where he grew up. Those cliches were really a part of his life.Alex Jowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11737798466816750685noreply@blogger.com