Les Miserable seemed to fit that category.
Now I have never seen the stage version of this movie, because I live in Alaska, where the height of culture is something we call the Fur Rendezvous. (There is very little singing during the Fur Rondy. Though there IS some prostitution.)
I went into the film expecting to have my mind expanded by the influx of culture, music, and artistic expression, but instead I left feeling emotionally devastated and hoping to NEVER get a hairdresser as incompetent as Anne Hathaway's.
Look I had high hopes for the film, after all it had Wolverine, Catwoman, and that Gladiator guy. So surely there would be some epic fight scenes and CGI, right?
Not right.
For one thing EVERYBODY kept singing some version of the same song, over and over again. I kept hoping for a different, more upbeat song, but noooo!
Now I love music, and Hugh Jackman and Hathaway have surprisingly beautiful voices, but seriously sometimes I just wanted there to be a little Journey, or Foreigner inserted into the song catalog just to get the place rocking a little. (You know like they did in Rock of Ages. Now THAT was an entertaining musical!)
And the characters suffered SO much in this movie it was ridiculous. Wolverine stole some bread and spent the entire movie paying for it in one way or another. Catwoman got her hair cut off, lost a butt load of weight, and started to turn tricks in what appeared to be a coffin. And that Gladiator guy was just a dick! ("Are you not entertained?" No, actually.)
The movie was so upsetting that I heard a woman sobbing uncontrollably behind me. And even more upsetting, once I glanced over my shoulder, I realized it was a man! And he was openly weeping like somebody ran over his damn dog while he was holding its leash!
In fact the film/play/Lifetime movie seemed to have been written specifically to reduce the audience to a bunch of soggy weeping snot infused wretches, who would leave the theater humming "I Dreamed a Dream" in between sobs and periodic attempts to blow their noses.
Now I am all manly so of course I resisted the attempts by the film to manipulate my emotions and drain me of my testosterone. However I did suffer an unforeseen hay fever attack (The first one ever) about fifteen minutes into the film and spent the rest of the two hours discreetly wiping my eyes due to the fact that they were watering a little. (You know, cause of the allergies.)
So my message today is that, yes it is a good film, but NOT for any men hoping to leave the theater with any dignity intact. Or for those who were hoping to see Hugh Jackman to go all "snikt snikt" on Russell Crowe's ass, Never happens, though in my opinion it would have GREATLY improved the movie.
You know, what did I expect? After all the movie is called "Les Miserables" which is French for "The Miserable." And now I know why.
Now if you will excuse me I have to go wash tear stains out of my jacket. (That guy behind me must have leaked all over me when I wasn't looking. The big baby!)
Got in touch with our feminine...er, allergy...side did we, Jesse? Fear not, you will recover.
ReplyDeleteNow I’ve GOT to see the movie.
DeleteIf anyone wants to tackle the book now (like me) its free on Kindle at Amazon in several volumes...
DeleteIts got the best reviews, "life changing" was said alot!
I'm waiting for my kindle to charge up :)
Thanks, Gryphen. You've done the impossible! Les Miserables has nothing to laugh about, yet I'm laughing out loud. If othere enjoy your report half as much as I have, your suffering will not have been in vain. Love you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review; funny - looks like I just just go see Silver Lining Playbook a second time.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I honestly cannot believe the soundtrack from this movie is supposedly gaining momentum.
ReplyDeleteThe stars of this movie did the best they could as to showcasing their singing capabilities, but there is no comparison to the music of the original London Cast of "Les Miserables". Absolutely zero comparison!
And the London production can't compare to the original French version.
DeleteOf course, the movie has an excuse, because they did all the singing live to emphasize the acting over the music. Which I thought generally worked well for the movie itself, but not so much for a soundtrack and radio playability.
Damn, i wanted to be Frist. My 'puter said 0 comments, but it was behind the times.
ReplyDeleteGreat review.
I don't know what to think of this movie -- is it an overinflated spectacle, or am I an insensitive clod?
No crying for me. But the movie did make me interested in learning more about the novel, which is 1800 words long in the French version, and clearly was a very impassioned political statement in its day.
It would have made a great opera vehicle for someone like Verdi, if he had a manageable libretto to work with. But Mr. Schoenberg is just a talentless hack, laughing all the way to the bank for a second time.
+1
DeleteGryph, I have not seen this particular version of the tale, but I am glad it moved you.
ReplyDeleteVictor Hugo wrote about the downtrodden. There were authors who came before, and then there are those who followed: the opera La Boheme by Puccini, also in the 19th Century, and then there is Rent, the musical which transports both Les Miz and La Boheme into the late 20th Century and the AIDS crisis to the same devastating effect.
All of them are, depending upon your outlook, either cheesy or heart wrenching pieces of stagecraft. They mirror daily life of too many marginalized members of any society, in any time, who hang on to life by a fragile thread, easily torn.
If it makes us think, it was done well...
What you should really do is read Victor Hugo's book, Les Miserables. That is the true classic. And yes, it is all very miserable. You are too funny :)
ReplyDeleteThe problem here is that the movie is an adaption of a very long book that you didn't read. It is influenced by the long running, highly successful sung-through musical. Let's leave some of the emotion aside. Now, you have to read the book (or at least read about it) because some of the themes take place over and over throughout history.
ReplyDeleteWomen are treated very very badly-- first in a casual romance (which she probably took more seriously), then she is stuck with a child and no way to support and take care of the child, then she abused by in the workplace by someone with authority over her. Relevance? Look at what is going on in India in reaction to a woman who died as a result of the savage beating and rape that she suffered. Look at what the Republicans are trying to do to prevent women from making their own reproductive choices, or having the financial aid to support that child that they forced her to bear.
As for the child, there were street children in Paris. There are street children in many third world countries, as well as in developing nations. Those children live by stealing. They are abused. They end up in gangs. They exist.
There have always been two classes: the rich and powerful who do abuse the poor and powerless. This notion of equal rights for all men and women is recent, and it is still not the case everywhere. While many nations do have an economy on the rise, their poor are truly devastating poor, with few social services, no voice in politics and little hope. Hugo wrote about three groups of people: the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night..... so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.
These problems exist today, and they are not the signs of a good society. They point to a lack of hope, a despair, and the problems exist here as well as in other countries. The book is also filled with discussions of religion, politics, society, different kinds of love (family, romantic) and even the building of the sewers of Paris. Once you get past the device of emotional, dramatic story telling (the style of the day), the themes are real. Sometimes, that is the only way to connect with people and make them care.
If you need to connect this to something in the world today, think about the forced labor conditions around the world, people who work for a dollar a day making our cloths for those companies that outsourced their labor. Think about someone who criticizes the government in a country where that is not allowed. He becomes a political prisoner. Child labor, terrible working conditions, unjust imprisonment-- a lesson for today as well.
VERY well said! Agree 100%!
DeleteSad but true.
DeleteFunnily enough this same blog had a photo of a little street child, most likely starving, with his hand in an older person's hand and the post was regarding the fact that in this world some lives matter less than others. Les Mis brings that point to the surface with the injustices suffered by the poor in 18th century France. Same lesson applies today in America and other third world countries where birth control is not exercised diligently. There are Cosettes left behind everywhere, even today, but unfortunately most don't have a Jean ValJean to rescue them.
DeleteYikes, 12:27 p.m. -- make that 1800 pages long, not words.
ReplyDeleteThe 1800-word version is the one the Palin fambly has in its extensive library.
LOL! I wondered about that...big figured typo, and the 1800 WORD version is the most likely in the palin "library"....you know "piper, google me Les Miserables"!
DeleteThanks, Sgt. Preston, I salute you!!!
DeleteSpouse and I have seen it twice - sobbing all the way! Have some criticisms - Russell Crowe needed to breathe while he sang, Amanda Seyfried's "Disney Princess" voice annoyed me - but from someone who has read the book many times, seen the show in London twice and in NYC more times than I can count, I thought it was GREAT!!! Planning to go again on New Years Day.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we don't have to pretend to have allergy attack b/c we are "theater people?"
Oh, and while "Rock of Ages" has lots of loud music and big hair, it certainly does not qualify as a legit "Broadway musical." Just sayin'
So glad to hear you liked it. I have seen the stage production 3 times, and I moves me to tears each time. Going to see the movie on New Years Day, but I was fearful it would be a disappointment...now I am looking forward to it!
DeleteAdorable review! I'm waiting for the budget prices, but still excited.
ReplyDeleteWhat is worth crying over is how this commentary on society still holds true today.
ReplyDeleteI'll never see it. I detest musicals, which is strange as I'm into all sorts of art. I'm a professional composer/musician, love jazz, love impressionism, love theater, love cuisine, etc. but just could never get with musicals. I think the only one I saw that I liked was Sweeny Todd. My mother took me to a Chorus Line when I was young. That's probably what killed musicals for me :)
ReplyDeleteLike Sweeny Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Jesus Christ Superstar and many others, these are less Musicals and more Opera.
DeleteBut Opera doesn't sell tickets. Musicals do. And we all know Broadway is for Musicals, not Opera (except for Porgy and Bess which was a flop it's first time out).
They do Opera at the Met.
Right?
Opera, musical, whatever. When they start singing the dialog I cringe. The Sweeny Todd that I enjoyed was the movie version with Johnny Depp and probably the only reason I enjoyed it was the songs were harmonically complex, Maj 7#11 chords and such. That said, both Broadway musicals and opera don't interest me one iota. I've played in pit orchestras for both and will never do that again.
DeleteAh, smirnonn you took the words right out of my mouth. I haven't like any musicals since I was a kid and watched Grease over and over again. Geez, Gryphen, going alone without a date to Les Mis is enough to get your man card revoked. I suggest you go see Django to get it back...my husband loved it. I personally would rather poke my eyeballs with toothpicks than see Les Mis. Musicals always suck, I'm more of an action/adventure flick type of girl anyway. Besides, who needs to sit through that torture when it's college bowl, nfl playoff, and NCAA basketball season? Rock on.
DeleteAbout the Cockney accents-- when the musical was first staged in London, they used Cockney to indicate the class of the person-- which can still be an issue. Remember in "My Fair Lady," that people judged Eliza, the flower girl, by the way she talked. The Cockney, and other accents were a handy way of letting us know what class the person belonged to-- just in case we couldn't tell by their ragged clothing, the way that they were treated, or their miserable condition.
ReplyDeleteThis might make you feel better, G...or worse!
ReplyDeletehttp://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/12/after-les-mis.html
this was excellent video, love the comments, great family!
DeleteAmazing how the human condition can move people!
DeleteThanks for the link!
Thanks for the heads up. I will add this to the list of movies I will never see.
ReplyDeleteI don't want my tears jerked or my heart warmed. I am the only person I know who hasn't seen "A Christmas Story", It's a Wonderful Life" and "Gone With the Wind".
Get a grip Gryph.......some will find this as a way to affirm the second amendment......
ReplyDeleteThe review I read wasn't that good.
ReplyDeleteSaid the film suffered from too many close-ups because the director insisted on recording the actor's voices on set rather than dubbing them in.
Too bad. I had high hopes for this film.
I thought the choice to have the actors sing 'live' as opposed to lip syncing and later dubbing the soundtrack was a brave choice. Apparently this is the first time that has been done for a major motion picture.
DeleteI think it allowed the actors to properly convey the emotions felt during their scenes, and I thought it was a great choice on the directors part.
You paid good money to hear Russell Crowe sing? That proves the old saying "you get what your pay for".
ReplyDeleteFortunately there was a reprise of "Do you hear the people sing" so that everyone had a chance to dry up after Valjean's passing. That's not a spoiler -- nearly everyone dies, sings first, but still dies.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was one of the rare instances where a stage musical was successfully adapted to a major film. It's sad that my best hope going into it was that it not get ruined like Mamma Mia and Rock of Ages, which were both so much fun on stage but painful to watch on film.
I was also pleased that the film incorporated some of the smaller details from the book that were far too subtle to have ever been used effectively on a stage. They smartly opted, however, to skip the entire chapter ("A?") devoted to the history of the construction of the Paris sewer system.
Oh, and now Sideshow Bob's prisoner number from The Simpsons makes sense!
I love the movie more now than I did when I saw it. It was almost too intense. I also wept, pretty much through the whole movie from the gritty, passionate Anne Hathaway song till the end.I think the mother/daughter and father /daughter theme really touched me. The mom panicking because she couldn't protect her child and the father letting his girl go because he was getting old and couldn't take care of her forever.Empty Chairs had me completely sobbing.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great stage version of Les Mis in Anchorage in 1990 in the Atwood. It was the complete stage version with more bells and whistles than Anchorage had ever seen. It was great, it sold out 3 weeks of performances, even with ticket prices that were rather expensive back then (still less than $100 bucks though, so still, a deal!) It's a beautiful show and I've seen it 5 times in 3 different cities and 2 different countries. I don't think I can bring myself to see the movie, however, because, first of all the book is special, and the stage show even more so. Movies tend to "muck things up".
ReplyDeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteIf you want singing at Fur Rondy, you need to go to the annual Rondy Melodrama at the Snow Goose.
Last year they did Alyeska Jones and the Viking Crypt, which was of course located in Norse Pole, Alaska. There were lots of singing Viking women, and at one point my son got on stage with the actors and danced and sang to "The YMCA".
The wonderful part of the show is that booing, hissing, cheering, and popcorn throwing are all heartily encouraged, and I did not see one tear shed by anyone during the entire evening!
In 8th grade our English teacher had us do "book reports" he called them, actually full length summaries, on To Kill A Mocking Bird, Ann Frank's Diary, Hiroshima, Kon Tiki, and Jean Val Jean ...as "Les Miserables" was known in North American literature....did I mention what a helluva English teacher I had in 8th grade....:) ...the best.....BTW ...if you don't see the stage productions in New York or London, you get second rate performers and pay the same $$...I was entirely fed up after I went to see Phantom and the female lead was barely audible, while her male counterpart practically blasted you out of your seat.....I'd wait for the HD movie any day over that...
ReplyDeleteThat was an excellent review! My husband's excuse is that his "eyeballs are sweating". The movie is usually not as good as the book, but I may cave and see it despite some of the criticism.
ReplyDeleteGreat Review! That guy should pay for your cleaning bill! lol
Hey, if you're reading "shades of grey", I'd like to read your review!
Love that review Gryphen! Funny stuff.
ReplyDelete