One Day, Two Musicals

I love musicals. I get a warm, fuzzy feeling just thinking about The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Cry Baby, Moulin Rouge, West Side Story, The Little Mermaid etc. The soundtracks have permanent residence in my brain. Jason thinks they’re pretty ridiculous. He just can’t get over the silliness of people breaking into a song and dance in the middle of the street and then all the town folk join in with synchronized choreography. Despite this aversion he did enjoy West Side Story and Moulin Rouge. He also starred in Oak Hills High School musicals as Jud in Oklahoma and Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie. I wish you could’ve seen him in his overalls or doing his best Elvis impersonation!

A couple months ago Jason was gone on a youth group retreat so I had a weekend to myself. I devoted part of Saturday to checking out two musicals I’ve heard so much about – Dreamgirls and High School Musical.

High School Musical…….sigh. I wanted to LOVE it. The movie and soundtrack spent weeks at the top of the sales charts. The soundtrack is pure pop genius. The kids at work watch it…..and watch it, and watch it, and watch it and I sing along under my breath. The story is atrocious. There, I said it. It was the fluffiest bit of cheese I’ve ever seen. I was so disappointed that this is the movie that kids are watching over and over again. There is no character development and the plot is just shallow.

I saw Dreamgirls alone in the theater and absolutely love it! The music was outstanding and the story was moving. At the end of Jennifer Hudson’s performance of And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” it seemed as if the audience held their breath. I heard a few gasps as she hit the high notes with such urgent emotion. When the song was over, the audience applauded. I’ve never seen that happen in the middle of a movie before. I was impressed and surprised by Eddie Murphy’s heartwarming and entertaining performance. As soon as I got home I went to my computer and ordered my favorite songs from iTunes.

So there it is – one rant and one rave. Happy movie viewing!