montebank

This movie was charming. An accountant wants more from life than the approved conventional success. What makes it work so well, and makes it so different from the standard dance movie is that it really isn't about becoming "Great" it is simply about finding a way to express one's self. The big triumph at the end is not the winning of a contest, not the discovery of a whole new life style, but the simple joy of doing what you want to fulfill the other parts of your life. No one is discovering their passion, they are finding their quiet soul.

The Japanese background makes the subtle oppression and "secret life" of ballroom dancing both understandable and personal. We can all see ourselves in the everyman.

The Music Man with Robert Preston remains the definitive Music Man, if for no other reason than it was NOT just Robert Preston, it was Shirley Jones, Hermione Gingold, Buddy Hackett and Ron Howard. But this 2002 production did not have to compete with the Preston original, it had to compete with every high school's version. And it couldn't.

The 2002 remake had a likable, but not powerful Harold Hill. I love Broderick, but I couldn't believe he could sucker a whole town. And he had NOONE to play off of. The actors in this version simply didn't believe their material. There was no comedy in the Mayor's malapropisms, in fact, it was easy to overlook them. Kristin Cheneworth had a hairstyle I couldn't figure out and, alas, it had more personality than her Marian Paroo. The mayor's wife seems a milquetoast, not a pillar of the community. There was nothing likable about Winthrope, no personality to Widow Paroo, and it would be hard to conceive of a more forgettable Marcellus.

It is my hope that this version will die a quick death. Go to your high school to see a better version live, or rent the original.

The movie is dated, true. In fact, seeing 30's Hollywood's version of Shakespearian England's version of Athenian costuming is a delight in itself. But the actors in this rendition are just amazing. Not only is the cast impressive (Cagney, Brown, Rooney, D'Havilland, Powell), but they are doing the roles with the right mixture of buffoonery and dedication to Shakespeare's love of high and low comedy together.

The casting of Cagney as Bottom was brilliant, his mixture of swagger and obliviousness is perfect, especially when played off of the great Joe E. Brown, who's rubber faced quiet performance is uproarious. Young Mickey Rooney is a wonderful puck, light and athletic, it may be his finest work. The special effects manage to give off the feeling of faerie, without overpowering what is going on. And the weaving of the two stories together works as well as might be hoped for.

I consider this to be the classic definitive Midsummer's Night Dream films. No other can ever measure up.