ashmarnell

Although I have long be a fan of the stage, I have been leery of live action and stage versions of animated films ever since my wife insisted I take our children to the stage version of Lion King, battled 2-hours of traffic each way to get there, and the kids' reaction was they liked the cartoon better. However, I seem to be one of the select few who had not seen the animated version of Frozen before I saw this stage adaptation, so I had no preconceptions or expectations and did not have to spend my time deciding which was "better." I found this stage play perfectly enjoyable. I have been a fan of Samantha Barks for years and she, as usual, was exceptional both in her singing and acting. Laura Dawkes was a revelation; she has a great voice and is a born comedian. Craig Galavan operating the puppet snowman also provided comic relief. In fact, after watching the animated film, I actually preferred the stage play version in many ways. I am not a great fan of CGI animated people, and the humor struck me as funny when presented by live actors rather than "cute," as is generally the case with CGI animated figures. As with most musicals, there were only a few "hits", but the other songs were more than adequate to move the action forward.

Keep in mind while watching that an inherent problem with filmed stage shows is that the actors are projecting to an audience, not a camera, so they might look like they are overacting somewhat in the closeups.

This is a show that I will be able to watch several times. The best description I can give is that everything, like in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, is "just right." There is visual humor, but not too much. The jokes gave me more a consistent warm, fuzzy feeling than had me rolling on the floor laughing, but there were few dead spots. Five seasons was just enough without the ongoing gags becoming too repetitious. Charlotte Ritchie in particular shows a real comic touch, as the normal, ordinary person suddenly placed in a bizarre situation. Over the course of the series, the characters were allowed to develop from visual caricatures to almost real human beings, which made them all the more appealing. Much superior to the American version.

An enjoyable British comedy with over-the-top humor worthy of Monty Python. Samantha Barks, who displays real comedic talent, finds out that a former classmate was about to sell a business for a lot of money. Her boyfriend, who should have been wearing a top hat and a handlebar mustache, convinces her to marry him so she can get half the money then share it with him. However, the victim finds out about the plot and does everything he can to insult and antagonize her so she will quit. The movie is a lot of fun for those who can suspend disbelief and not be offended by the fact that the characters are more caricatures than people. The primary problem is that the script would have been wonderful for a one-hour TV sitcom. After an hour, I was saying, enough already.