Well, dear readers, can you believe this month is now half over? Can you believe that 2015 is just two weeks away? I gotta tell you. I suppose I’ll start doing my usual year-end recap this week – it’s been a rather extraordinary year, mostly positive and great, with a few teeny-tiny detours into irritating land, including one whopping bit of nonsense that dragged on for almost seven months, but which is now over unless I end up wanting to do something about it at some point – I don’t think I will, but then again, never say never.
Isn’t it funny sometimes? The films you can’t bring yourself to watch, the ones you’re sure you’ll hate, you end up being affected by and enjoying. And the films that you really want to love you end up being disappointed by or just not feeling much of anything at all. Both scenarios happened yesterday. I’ve had the film Boyhood sitting on my couch like so much fish for over two weeks. I just could not bring myself to watch it. First, I’m not really a fan of its director. Second, the two hour and forty-five minute running time. I was intrigued by the twelve-year filming period, though, and so yesterday I finally popped it into the player and gave it a look-see. While I’m not sure I would call it a great film, I was very taken aback by how much I liked it. It does go on, but then it really has to. There’s no real plot to speak of, we just watch the story of a six-year-old boy grow into his teens, graduate high school and begin college. That’s the plot. But what makes this completely unique and affecting is that they shot the film with the same cast over a twelve-year period. So, we watch this adorable kid grow up before our very eyes, turning into a teen at first not that far removed from his smaller self, but then into a gawky and tall teen going through the usual trials and tribulations. We also watch the character’s sister grow, too, and that is affecting as well. And even though it’s just twelve years, even Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette are very different than the started out in terms of looks. There are some scenes that are just wonderful and some that are very funny. But it’s really just scenes from a boyhood with no through lines or anything like that.
Of course, this isn’t the first time cinema has followed kids from childhood into adulthood – that honor goes to Michael Apted’s seminal documentary series that began with 7 Up and followed a group of kids from seven and caught up with them every seven years, with the latest episode being 56 Up. That one is heartbreaking and amazing to watch. But this one is fiction, written by the director. A lot of it feels improvised but according to Ethan Hawke, only one conversation in the entire film was improvised – all else was scripted. If you’re in the mood for something a little different, I can really, surprisingly, recommend this.
The movie I wanted to love and that in the end I didn’t feel much of anything about other than mildly enjoying it was, of course, Into the Woods, which I saw at the Disney Studios. Let’s get right into the good – Rob Marshall has foregone the Bob Fosse junk, the quick cutting and has made his best film (that said, I haven’t really been in love with any of his prior films including Chicago). I did feel he’s a little too in love with keeping the camera in constant movement, which just gets to be too much after a while. It’s quite a loud movie, too. The production design and costumes are just fine, the score sounds great (including Tunick’s background score), and the cast is really wonderful. So, first a caveat: I’ve never really engaged with Into the Woods as many have – I do love a lot of the score, but the show has always left me a little cold. The film is very one-note in terms of its darkness so that there’s no real difference between the first part and the second part, which I found odd stylistically. And when it was over I really thought I’d been sitting there for over two-and-a-half hours and was amazed to find that as the credits rolled the film had run just under two hours. But it simply feels MUCH longer than that. It gets ponderous and takes itself very seriously. There was only a smattering of laughter throughout – little pockets here and there – but no laugh really landing as it had in the theater. Perhaps that was just this audience, although I felt they’d all come to absolutely love it. I overheard a bunch of people on the way out who were trying to be positive about it but simply ended up complaining about how long it seemed, so that wasn’t just me. Even though some of the song buttons scream “APPLAUD” but there wasn’t any applause during the film, and only a smattering as it ended.
I know a couple of numbers were cut, but the film is very faithful to the show. I think audiences will be very divided – I think some critics will fall all over themselves to call it brilliant (especially in lieu of the horrible Annie reviews) and some won’t, and I think the musical theater people will cheer as the lights go down, howl with laughter, applaud every number and cheer at the end and clap for every credit. I’ve seen it happen with every screen musical of the last decade and this will be no different. It happened with Dreamgirls, with Nine, with The Producers, with Rent and on and on. But I’m not sure regular audiences will be thrilled with the non-stop singing of the first twenty minutes, which is followed by a lot of songs in a row. The music, while tuneful and pleasing a lot of the time, is not “easy” and only time will tell if audiences will ultimately go along with it. I do think they are hyping this thing so hugely that no matter what kind of business it does it will appear to be huge. And there will be those who are simply grateful that it’s on the screen at all. All in all, I wished I’d liked it a bit more, but it’s certainly not a bad movie and I think fans of the show will be relatively pleased. Again, the cast is terrific – James Corden is a good baker, Emily Blunt is excellent as his wife, and Meryl Streep is her usual excellent self. Anna Kendrick is good (don’t love her voice – a bit too nasal for my taste) and the Little Red, Lilla Crawford, is really good. Everyone else does very well. I’ll be curious to hear other dear readers’ opinions. I’m sure some of you will really enjoy it and that’s a good thing. In days of old, I judged how much I loved a film by how fast I had to see it again. That hasn’t happened in a very long time, my thinking something was so great that I had to immediately see it again. With film musicals it certainly happened with West Side Story (which I saw every week for fourteen weeks straight), The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Gypsy, Funny Girl and, of course, Li’l Abner. I know all those aren’t necessarily great movies but there was something about them that got me back into the movie theater very quickly.
Other than that, I had a breakfast meeting with a singer friend and I think we’ll be doing an album for her early in 2015. And after Into the Woods, I had a wonderfully wonderful supper with Kay Cole and Michael Lamont. We ate, we dished, we ate and we dished. Then I came home and just relaxed.
Today, it will all be stuff for the next Kritzerland show – we’re a little behind, but I should have the final casting done today and then I can finish choosing the rest of the songs and gather the music and get it to everyone.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals and shows, oh my. I have to do a Costco run and get the stuff for the Christmas Eve Do, and I have to prep our final release announcement of the year.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora of the samba because today is the birthday of our very own dear reader ChasSmith. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader ChasSmith. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER CHASSMITH!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do stuff for the Kritzerland show, eat, hopefully pick up some packages and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: For the upcoming all kids show, what songs would you love to hear a kid sing – and not necessarily things that were written for kids. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have seen both Boyhood and Into the Woods.