Mikurtis

Okay, it wasn't as funny as "Designing Women" but this was a funny show. It had an excellent cast... had it been given more of a chance, it may actually have been better than the show it spun off from. Suzanne Sugarbaker was back and was better than ever! The rest of the characters were pretty much darker versions of the characters on "DW". Teri Garr was a recovering alcoholic and journalist... with a sarcasm similar to Mary Jo. Malone was a wide-eyed innocent divorced Charlene with two children who idolized the Menendez Brothers. Natalie was Suzanne's adviser... she exuded the class and sophistication of Julia but was a Conservative... and had an affair with a married Congressman who was now in jail.

I rented this prepared NOT to like it. Afterall, I'd seen the 1973 film so many times and loved it. How could they improve upon it? Well, they did. The staging and the acting were so much better here. "Simon and the Zealots" was always a part of the original film I'd fast forward through since it didnt seem to move the story at all... seemed like a pointless dance number. Well, here, it finally has a meaning! The relationship between Christ and Judas is fleshed out more (though I really must say this Judas is vocally not as good as the one in the '73 version). The otehr scene that is way better than the original is the trial scene... I mean, it actually is quite grizzly and violent for a musical (though I preferred the 1973 Pilate to this one). The only thing that's missing is the great locations used for the first film. But, for the most part, this is the superior version. A must-see!

The opening where Shelley and his party arrive at Lord Byron's was excellent... the music, the photography, the misty locations... everything was perfect. Seemed to be the set-up fpr a great movie. The perfect flick to stick in the VCR every Halloween.

The ending was also very well done... seemed like the end of a really great creepy movie. The perfect movie to stick in the VCR every Halloween.

Unfortunately, the rest of it was a mess. Ken Russell did what he does best. He went way over-the-top. About fifteen minutes into the film, he was dangerously close to crossing the line. So, he crossed it. It was too much! Overblown, overdone. Then, it seemed maybe it would get good again... nope. Then, it got even more overblown and overdone.

But, it's Ken Russell. I do believe there's a good director in there somewhere. This movie indicates that. Too bad there's no one there to edit his work or help him focus more