DVD Shelf: Movie Musicals

This new feature will explore films now on DVD, usually grouped by genre, theme or cast (although generally I’ll leave that to “Body of Work”).

OK Patch, I have a confession. I, Noah Golden, of sound mind and body here do admit that I love musicals. Yes, a straight, 21-year-old male and I love musicals: watching them, listening to them, even being in them.

But my favorites are not the glitzy, song-and-dance kinds with fluffy plots, spontaneous choreography and meaningless musical numbers (*cough* “Mamma Mia” *cough*). My favorite film musicals are not “Grease” or “Sound Of Music” or even “Chicago.”

My favorites are a bit more off the beaten path and are, generally, devoid of flashmob-style dancing. I firmly believe musicals can tell great stories, be extremely emotional and attract a wide audience. Yes, a wide audience.

So in this DVD Shelf, I’ll highlight five different movie musicals that couldn’t be more different, or more different from Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Hedwig & The Angry Inch: A German transsexual and a church-boy-turned-rock-star. Not the usual antagonist/protagonist for a movie musical. But then again, “Hedwig” isn’t your usual musical. Based on the off-Broadway hit, this no-holds-barred rock musical, written and staring John Cameron Mitchell, made the transition from the stage to the silver screen in 2001. It follows Hedwig (Mitchell, reprising his stage performance and also directing), a German singer whose botched sex change operation has her in some sort of gender limbo. She travels the country, playing dead-end gigs, following the tour of Tommy Gnosis, a glam rocker and Hedwig’s ex. The film traces Hedwig’s raise from a “slip of a girly boy from communist East Berlin” who eventually moves stateside for a man.

While the story is a bit all over the place, the film is wildly inventive, both in style and storytelling and Mitchell’s performance as the title character is both fierce and vulnerable. Since most of this film plays as a concert, the songs are paramount, and they are really quite good. From the Beatles-esque “Wig In A Box” to the thrashing “Angry Inch” and the subdued ballad “Origin Of Love” (based lyrically off Plato’s “Symposium”), “Hedwig” is a great film to watch, but also a great one to listen to.

Sweeney Todd: This may the most Broadway-style of the films here. There’s ballads, a sweeping, operatic score and people just randomly burst out into song. But there’s also revenge, cannibalism, capitalism and blood. Lots of blood. The 1979 Sondheim musical long been a favorite of mine. The music is haunting and beautiful and the story suspenseful and emotional. While the film version doesn’t quite live up to its stage counterpoint, Tim Burton’s visionary take on the musical is well worth a view.

It starts in mid-19^th century London, when barber Benjamin Barker returns from a long, wrongful imprisonment. Once back in the city, he moves back into his old barbershop, assumes the name Sweeney, and plans revenge on the unscrupulous Judge Turpin, whose lust for Sweeney’s now-dead wife was the impetuous for his imprisonment. He also meets his downstairs neighbor Mrs. Lovett, who makes the “worst pies in London” until Sweeney shows up and gives her the idea for a bloody good new main ingredient.

Burton’s film is a feast for the senses. Each frame is so perfectly rendered, each shot so beautifully composed and stylistic, it could have been a painting. The lust score keeps faithful to Sondheim’s vision and is sung surprisingly well by Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen. Also notable are newcomers Ed Sanders and Jayne Wisener. Only Helena Bonham Carter’s Mrs. Lovett underwhelms both in the songs and character. Her Lovett is too quiet, too subdued, lacking the loony comedic energy that was needed to balance out Depp’s introverted and tortured Todd.

If you’re a fan of gothic horror, or musicals, or even good auteur filmmaking, I’d check out the film adaption of “Todd” (and maybe even the most recent Broadway revival’s soundtrack with the phenomenal Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone)

Bandslam: You may think "Bandslam" is just another "High School Musical" knockoff, but it’s closer to "Easy A" mixed with "School Of Rock." It stars Gaelan Connel, a charming geek of a leading man who brings to mind a young Tom Hanks, who plays a high school music enthusiast that ends up managing a band. Fronting the band is Charlotte (Alyson Michalka), an ex-cheerleader with questionable motives. Things heat up when he signs them up for Battle Of The Bands while figuring out a burgeoning relationship with shy, artsy Sa5m ("the five is silent") played by Vanessa Hudgens.

While "Bandslam" isn't revolutionary or even fantastic, the characters are not caricatured, the young performers are charismatic and the music is catchy. For those who love “High School Musical” or other such films, check out this flick, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Also look for the film's best song, "Someone To Fall Back On," on YouTube and the original version (better) by composer Jason Robert Brown (and please ignore the strange, "Harry Potter" visuals!).

"Once": Like I’ve said, sometimes movie musicals get a bad rap because of the big production numbers where regular people burst into intricate choreography and perfect harmony in the middle of the street. But "Once," a small Irish indie, proves that all you need to make a captivating movie musical are talented leads and good songs. On the streets of Dublin, a talented, heart-broken street performing (Glen Hansard) meets a Czech single mother (Markéta Irglová). Their budding friendship turns to something more while bonding over their love of music. "Once" is not flashy, glitzy or even unrealistic, as the musical numbers are performances rather than production numbers.  The scene where the two leads sit at a piano and sing "Falling Slowly" together for the first time is just as moving and awe-inspiring as any scene in movie musical history.

"Walk Hard": OK, “Walk Hard” isn’t really a musical. It’s more a parody of those musician biopics like “Ray” or “Walk The Line.” But, since the best part of it are the many songs, and those musical parodies are so spot-on and funny, I thought I’d include it. It follows the rise to fame of hapless, fictional pop star Dewey Cox (the multi-talented John C. Riley), whose career starts as a 1950s crooner, morphs into a ‘60s era folk balladeer, then disco entertainer, all between a hilariously disastrous marriage (with “Bridesmaid’s” Kristin Wiig) and a bad drug habit.

Sure, “Walk Hard” is a stupid movie, but it’s surprisingly smart in its tributes to famous biopics and musical styles. While the film flounders a bit when there’s no music, (the songwriter’s work is more witty and fresh than the scriptwriters’), it’s still a helluva fun, silly movie with some toe-tapping, loving-rendered songs.